This is a great question, and I believe the answer is a resounding yes. At the Prague’s 18th International Book Fair and Literary Festival, director Dana Kalinová noted that, despite Europe’s ongoing economic crisis, tickets to the fair sold out for the first time. When asked why, she simply declared, “Maybe people are looking for something in books. I don’t know, but I would like to believe that.”
Books often don’t cost as much as other forms of entertainment, even though you can rent a movie DVD for about the same price. As a writer and an avid reader, I’m naturally biased in favor of more cerebral avenues of pleasure. But, I know that with literature, people can luxuriate in other worlds and learn something valuable. Writing has always been a key form of communication. It’s how ideas are transferred from one person and one place to another. Written words evoke every single emotion known to humanity, whether for better or worse. In this Internet-based world, where people think cell phone text messages are a high art, we need to get back to the basic enjoyment of reading. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Chief Writing Wolf 
I am in total agreement with this post. It drives me crazy to think that, to many kids in my daughter’s age group, “OMG LOL UR SOOOO CRAYZEE GTG CUL8ER” is a perfectly reasonable sentence. Sadly, that’s the norm for many adults, too. But despite her penchant for “text talk”, my kid also finds herself drawn in by a good book, so there’s still hope for her yet!