A growing number of college professors say they are seeing students arrive on campus with seriously underdeveloped reading abilities. Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune that some students “can’t read sentences,” a problem separate from critical thinking skills. She has resorted to reading passages aloud in class, analyzing texts line by line, and revisiting the same material multiple times during the semester to help students process the words on the page.

The issue extends beyond Pepperdine. At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, up to half of students describe themselves as “novice or reluctant” readers each semester. Professors attribute the problem to a generation raised on TikTok, video-first social media apps, and AI summaries, combined with education systems emphasizing standardized testing and scanning texts for key details rather than reading deeply.

University of Notre Dame theology professor Timothy O’Malley explained that students are accustomed to skimming and relying on AI, which can lead them to miss important nuances. In his early career, he assigned 25 to 40 pages per class, and students either completed the work or admitted they struggled. Today, many students are unprepared to handle that same workload.

Some professors say this trend has prompted a shift in teaching methods, which critics call “coddling.” Brad East, a theology professor at Abilene Christian University, emphasizes reducing student stress and focusing on learning rather than grades. “It isn’t important to me to have stress-filled cumulative exams, nor do I particularly care about grade inflation,” he said. “I want them to learn.”

Despite the decline, reading remains a key habit among the ultra-wealthy, according to a recent JPMorgan survey of billionaires. Professors warn that the broader consequences of declining literacy go beyond grades, affecting empathy, community, and societal cohesion. Wilson notes that losing the shared experience of reading can contribute to polarization, loneliness, and a lack of friendship among young adults.