The New Dark Ages Is Long on Alarm, Short on Scientific Literacy
By Chris Ferguson · Oct 6, 2026, 7:00 AM CDT
The New Dark Ages: The Death of Reading and the Dawn of the Post-Literate Society , by James Marriott, Doubleday, 208 pages, $26 The last few years have seen a glut of sky-is-falling books about kids. Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation has made a generation of parents anxious. Jared Horvath's The Digital Delusion has fueled a backlash against technology in schools. The latest, James Marriott'
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Layer 1 · Claims & fact checks
AI analysisLayer 3 · Reporting analysis
AI analysisAppeal to FearThe author frames declining literacy as an existential threat to democracy to evoke anxiety.
Anecdotal EvidenceThe article highlights the use of isolated anecdotes rather than systematic data.
StrawmanThe author attributes a simplistic causal claim to Marriott without showing Marriott actually made that direct implication.
Appeal to AuthorityCiting a researcher to bolster the counter‑argument, though no study is provided.
Contrast with Positive TrendsThe author juxtaposes negative claims with broad positive statistics to undermine the book’s thesis.
Context
AI analysisMissing context
The article does not provide comprehensive data from peer‑reviewed research on screen time and reading outcomes, nor does it present longitudinal studies that examine causality. It omits discussion of methodological limitations in the cited CDC trends, the full range of NAEP score fluctuations, and broader socioeconomic factors influencing both screen use and academic performance.
Important context
A balanced assessment would need to reference systematic reviews of screen time effects, detailed NAEP trend analyses, and peer‑reviewed studies on youth mental health and literacy. Context about how reading habits have changed across media (print vs. digital) and the role of educational policy would also be relevant.
Opinion vs. reporting
AI analysisThe piece is predominantly opinionated, offering evaluative language (“alarmist,” “lofty moral lectures,” “trite narrative”) and personal judgments rather than systematic reporting of evidence.