The Lost Art of Reading: Rediscovering the Power of a Good Book
I would like to preface this article by saying I was born a reader. From the moment I first learned how to read I was infatuated with the creative and exciting world that I was introduced to, and I spent a large percentage of my younger years with my nose buried in a book. Now, I understand that this is not the case for many, and reading can often prove to be a difficult challenge. However, I think we can all agree that being able to read is an invaluable asset that everyone can benefit from at any stage in their lives, and it is an utter shame that as our world advances, fewer and fewer people understand the importance of being able to sit down and focus on a good book.
Some of my fondest childhood memories took place at my local public library, which I would visit with my siblings every single Friday afternoon like clockwork. There, we would have free reign to peruse the endless shelves of books and select our reading materials for the coming week. I was in a constant state of astonishment at the sheer number of titles there were to choose from, and on more than one occasion I ended up with a bag of books larger than myself, as my enthusiasm prevented me from narrowing down my finds to a more reasonable sum. As I grew older, my taste in literature developed, but I never stopped my habit of reading whenever I could.
Although I’m sure many people share similar childhood experiences, surprisingly few allow this habit to extend into their teenage and adult years. They may still sit down every once in a while and crack open a novel, but odds are, the majority of their reading materials are mandatory assignments for their high school and college classes, and they rarely find the time for leisurely reading. This new view of reading simply as a means to academic success is drastically different from the beliefs of prior generations. Until recently, having a large and broad personal library was seen as the utmost privilege, and people viewed purchasing books as an investment. As our world progresses, however, fewer people are choosing to purchase and read books, opting to spend their hard-earned money elsewhere. This begs the question: what in our society has changed so drastically in the past few decades to cause such a prominent shift in our view of reading?
If you guessed technology, then you are 100 percent correct. As cliche as this sounds, it’s absolutely one of the leading causes of this phenomenon. Although technology has improved so much of the world as we know it, making it difficult to even fathom a world in which all information is not at our fingertips, there is much to say about the harmful side effects of certain technological advancements.
A large part of technological advancements in the past few years have been in the realm of entertainment: Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and countless other streaming sites have made incredible fortunes feeding off of the human inclination to be entertained constantly while putting in minimal effort. While I think that it can be a blessing to be able to “turn your brain off” at the end of the day and wind down with a nice TV show, it may be causing us more harm than good in the long run.
According to a study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average attention span has decreased from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to just 8.25 seconds today — less than a goldfish’s attention span! It is no surprise then that recreational reading, which requires patience and effort, has been utterly neglected. Why toil away for hours on end turning the pages of a book when you could just as easily lie in your bed, not lift a finger and watch an entertaining and highly stimulating TV show?
The ability to read deeply requires time, patience and focus — qualities that are increasingly hard to come by in a world that encourages quick, easily digestible snippets of information and entertainment. When we lose the ability to engage with complex ideas for an extended period, we begin to lose something far more valuable: the capacity to think critically, to analyze and most importantly, to question. Without these skills, our ability to make informed decisions and understand the complexities of the world around us is severely diminished.
Don’t worry, rediscovering the art of reading in the digital age does not mean you have to abandon technology altogether. Rather, it’s about being purposeful with how you engage with it, and ensuring you still make time for slow-paced and mindful recreational reading. Here are some tips to help you reconnect with reading:
- Set goals for yourself: Even if it means deciding to finish one book a month, have that as motivation to always continue reading.
- Separate between reading for school and reading for pleasure: Although it’s tempting to just read whatever is mandatory for your current English class, make a habit of reading books that you want to read. Although it seems like you will be in school for the rest of your life, once you make it to the real world, there will be no one forcing you to read books and therefore much less of a chance that you will choose to pick up a book in your free time.
- Put away distractions when you read: Although we can all pretend we have enough self-discipline to not look out our phones every five seconds — let’s be real. As soon as it buzzes, we are all jumping to see what notifications we get. Do yourself a favor and just put your devices in a different room when you’re reading: you will notice how much easier it is to focus.
In a time when it is far too easy to live a life distracted by technology, it is becoming ever more important to develop the skill of slow, intentional reading. Rediscovering this skill can help us enrich our lives, broaden our perspectives and enable us to excel in all other areas of our lives. The next time you find yourself scrolling away on TikTok or Instagram, choose to pick up a book instead — a whole new world of endless growth and learning awaits.
Photo caption: Large and comprehensive library: a rare find these days
Photo credit: Henry Be / Unsplash
