I wonder if internet use will have a big effect on reading, ie we spend all day looking and reading off the pc that our usage of printed matter declines from sheer fatigue.

I think it has an effect on reading insofar as a lot of people have short attention spans or go refresh crazy. Plenty of times I have planned to read a book at say, 12 at night, and next thing I know I'm still switching tabs at 2 in the morning.

I got as far as "insofar" and then went to engadget

No, I always read.

I guess in this age of information technology it is possible to gain wisdom and knowledge without the need to ever pick up a book, but the biggest loss in never reading is the exercise of your mind, spirit and imagination through the act of reading.

Watching a film adaptation of a book may give you the story, but the reading of it brings another dimension since it is enacted within your mind and somehow has a more profound and lasting impact on the psyche. The way an idea is expressed in literature and poetry can often be a revelation, offering a new way of looking at something.