When was the last time you read a book? Like sat down, maybe with a nice glass of water, or your favorite tea or coffee, and actually read a book? For many of you, the last time might have been years ago; maybe even when you were little when you were forced to read books for accelerated reading or some variation of that in your school.
When was the last time you sat on the couch or your bed scrolling on Instagram or TikTok? You probably did this yesterday.
According to a survey conducted by Reviews.org in 2023, Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 25 minutes on their phones every day, checking it up to 144 times a day. This average every day can total up to two months.
The survey established the reality that Americans are addicted to their phones. 56.9% of Americans to be exact.
We live in a society that has been taken over by technology. Our attention span has become so short, because we are scrolling all of the time. Reading has become merely a chore to teenagers at this point, and the last thing that any teenager wants to do in their spare time. Anything longer than a 30-second video, we get bored by. Ask a teen to read for 30 minutes. They’ll call you crazy.
Statistics Collected from SSA Students
Professor Gloria Mark of the University of California, Irvine, discussed attention spans with Time Magazine. She explains, “At its core, the internet was designed to capitalize on how humans think, so it’s little surprise that people are drawn to it.” She goes on to explain that technology, by design, is a “minefield of distractibility.” In short, reading isn’t as interesting to teens nowadays when they have a whole world accessible at their fingertips.
Reading is more important than most people realize. It can expand our vocabulary, something that movies and TV shows cannot do. Reading fiction, in particular, can help you develop an understanding of who you are much like watching TV shows or movies can do, but I feel there is a distinct difference between the screen and the page. I believe reading is much more personal than people tend to realize. With reading, you “hear” the character’s inner thoughts, and you can connect and relate to characters on a much deeper level than you can to characters on screen. This deeper understanding allows us to connect with different fictional characters to help develop our own personal identity. We also learn to better understand why we behave in a certain way by empathizing with the struggles, relationships, obstacles, and beliefs of written characters in ways that can be limited when it comes to movies and TV characters.
Here is a great place to start to find the book that can jumpstart your journey back into reading!
SOURCES:
Cell Phone Usage Statistics: Mornings Are for Notifications
Why Our Attention Spans Seem to Be Getting Shorter | TIME
Want to Get Back Into Reading? Here’s How to Make It a Hobby That Sticks
Why is reading especially important for teens? – Scottish Book Trust
