It's the short attention span of the internet generation; reading attentively is no longer fashionable/encouraged.

On a side note, a lot of kids here can't read at all - apparently 1 in 3 London kids doesn't own a book.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23956817-get-london-reading-join-the-standards-campaign-to-tackle-illiteracy.do