For hundreds of years, reading was the king of media, but in an age where we have full length move waiting for us on a compact computer in our pockets, it has drastically fallen from its once-mighty heights. This is largely due to the fact that we now have so much information being thrown at us from hundreds of directions at one time. This has made it virtually impossible for the average person to shut off the constant stream of information long enough to truly pay attention when attempting to read. This was alarmingly pointed out by Johann Hari (2022), “The American Time Use Survey – which studies a representative sample of 26,000 Americans – found that between 2004 and 2017 the proportion of men reading for pleasure had fallen by 40 percent, while for women, it was down by 29 percent.” (pg. 101)
The significant drop in media is alarming not only because of how it affects our attention, but also because of the many other consequences it poses. We think through language, and reading is one of the greatest tools for improving the language through which we think, as well as opening us up to and exploring new ideas. Therefore, neglecting reading and choosing other forms of media greatly impacts critical thinking and our ability to utilize it. In all honesty, it is hard to fault someone for choosing a movie over a book; it’s less time-consuming, more enjoyable to some, and can require the use of less brain power. However, when we read, it challenges us in a beneficial way that consuming other forms of media can’t, and it doesn’t have to be academic papers or non-fiction we find “boring.” It can instead be fiction stories that transport us to new worlds all while making us better thinkers, a fact that is pointed out by Katie Stericker (2017) “Although relaxing with a fiction book is different than rigorously studying an academic text, you’re still required to exercise the skills that come into play during the act of critical thinking. Reading a novel requires you to keep track of a range of characters and their relationships in order to properly understand the progression of the plot.” But the problem persists: our attention is hampered by other forms of media, and we struggle to focus on reading even when it’s for leisure.
It’s hard to imagine our world and where it would be today without reading, and it is almost scarier to imagine where it could go if we continue to abandon reading. When researching for his book, Hari found many interesting things about reading and how the number of readers has dwindled with our ability to focus, but the most interesting one to me was the connection between reading and empathy: “When you read a novel, you are immersing yourself in what it’s like to be inside another person’s head. You are simulating a social situation.” (pg. 107) And as Hari (2022) points out, “Empathy makes progress possible, and every time you widen human empathy, you open the universe a little more.” (pg. 109) So, it is possible that in a world where in which we abandon reading completely, we lose not only lose the important tool that is critical thinking but we also lose empathy, and this is a future that I fear. We desperately need to bring back our focus and make it possible for not only us, but for the next generation to once again enjoy reading and benefit from it.
References
Hari, J. (2022). Stolen focus. Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd.
Stericker, K. (2016, November 10). Five reasons reading for fun will make you a better student (in any discipline) | writing and communication centre. Uwaterloo.Ca. https://uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-communication-centre/blog/five-reasons-reading-fun-will-make-you-better-student-any
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