It is rare for elections to leave all citizens in a country satisfied. One of the pillars of democracy is open debate, and this requires opposing or conflicting views. A close election can be as much a sign of a strong democracy as it can be a conflicted one. As Kenya edges closer to October 26 and uncertain outcomes, it is important to ensure that Kenya’s youth feel as secure and grounded as possible.
When people are tired and stressed, they show less empathy than when they are calm and rested. Empathy is an important catalyst for peaceful elections, especially when they are highly partisan. The ability to consider the feelings and viewpoints of ‘the other’ can be the difference between reacting with violence and reacting with dialogue and communication.
What is so significant about these facts is that there is a positive association between recreational reading, relatedness, and community cohesion. In other words, reading fiction is a strong predictor of social ability and in particular, of empathy. So if we want Kenya’s youth to be more likely to react peacefully to elections and their outcomes, we should get them into their school libraries so they can read fiction.
A Boston Group study found that reading for pleasure was strongly associated with emotional and personal development, as well as a greater sense of community, stronger feelings of social inclusion, a stronger ability to enjoy social occasion, and enhanced openness and talkativeness.
Factor in tense elections with uncertain outcomes, and the effects are even more profound. People who read for pleasure have been found to have an enhanced understanding of other people’s political perspectives. This is especially true when youth listen to or read stories of individuals belonging to stigmatised groups such as different ethnic groups.
So what does this mean for children in Kenya? It means that if we can get books in their hands, they can become agents of peace. Perhaps this is why it has been shown that historically, highly literate societies, especially societies that produced psychologically rich literature, have functioned more empathetically and less violently than less literate societies. When you read fiction, you uniquely engage the psychological processes needed to gain access to a characters’ subjective experiences.
But this belies another question – how many youth in Kenya have access to school libraries that actually stock an adequate supply of reading books, both in fiction and non-fiction? The answer is: Not many. Estimates as to how many schools in Kenya actually have libraries range dramatically from only four to 20 per cent, depending on how loosely you define a library. Regardless of where the actual number falls in this estimate, Kenya is missing a huge opportunity to educate its youth for peace simply by providing them with novels to read.
The disappearance of access to print stories is absolutely something that should concern any promoter of peace. When you contrast it with electronic media, literature helps readers experience empathy and sympathy, and specifically, books about violence and bullying help teens develop empathy.
In contrast, media violence has been shown to contribute to aggressive behaviour. The answer then is pretty clear, if we want kids in Kenya to stay grounded during elections (and any other challenging periods in their lives), we want to put books in their hands. And with exams looming, parents should also consider that in terms of academic achievement, reading for pleasure has a greater influence than having a parent with a degree. So let’s get these kids reading so that we can create a generation of peace-making, high achieving students.