Education data shows college students are struggling more than in the past with reading stamina and complex texts — a real trend that multiple universities cite as requiring curriculum adjustments. National reading measures also show long-term declines: younger generations are reading less for pleasure and scoring lower on assessments like PISA. However, the evidence is more nuanced than a simple "collapse." The data mostly tracks changes in reading habits and preparedness rather than a loss of basic reading ability. This appears to be a genuine generational shift, though the picture remains incomplete — it's not universal across all students, and the underlying causes remain contested. Pandemic disruption, social media's impact on attention span, and K-12 preparation gaps are all cited, but no single driver is definitively established.