Why We Don’t Read like We Used to Do

In this advanced internet era, everyone can grab information fast – anytime and anywhere. Everything is at our fingertips. We can work, travel around the universe virtually, and obtain multiple access to knowledge in just one click. The proverb "books open windows of the world" may seem irrelevant. Printed books, newspapers, and magazines must survive the challenge of not being left by the readers and compete against free and dynamic online portal news.

A saying states that whoever controls information also controls the world. Yes, it is fascinating that information has transformed into a significant asset. On the other side, if we fail to control our internet usage, it might result in addiction. "Fear of missing out" is a real social issue in which we are being overwhelmed by the amount of information needed to stay up-to-date so that we can feel 'up-to-date'.

During our school years – before the internet was accessible to everyone – reading was the popular choice to spend our days off, and even we managed to prepare some leisure time to read. We might even deliberately set aside some time for pleasure reading. Nowadays, reading paper books have become a bit old-fashioned. Many other forms of consuming content indeed compete with reading. This phenomenon hits me hard. Reading books is something I once did compulsively and joyfully. But, as I get older and spend more of my life online, reading books is getting harder and more challenging since the old habit changes, and staring at the phone becomes the sweet escape. 

So, why could this happen? The possible reason is that people are getting in a rush, always in a hurry, tired, and struggling to read books. We have no time to read, even on the weekends. The next interesting one is due to the internet effect. We are so used to the online world that it provides us with visual entertainment. Scientifically, this online activity gives us a high amount of dopamine – a pleasure chemical released in our bodies. Reading does not provide the same amount of visuals as the videos on the internet today. Then, we get quickly bored because our dopamine level drops [1].

That is why many people lose the taste of reading. Although reading enhances the logical understanding, it is something to be practiced. Information is everywhere, but we are used to reading short sentences: captions, feeds, or tweets. I sometimes lose the ability to focus on one page. If people lose the ability to read deep and long pages, it might make them challenging to analyze things and susceptible to information bubbles and fake news.

As parents, it is crucial to develop reading habits for our children. Kids are natural observers and absorb knowledge and experience from their surroundings. Parents are their first role models, so it is imperative to cultivate lifetime reading habits. It seems unfair when parents force their children to learn and read, but parents do not accompany or sit next to them properly – like being busy on their phones or surfing social media. Suddenly, it feels that I need to find a turning point. I am embarrassed staring at the collection of books still sealed on the shelf or just being read for one to two pages. Later, I am distracted by never-ending notifications from my phone when I read or fall asleep. The worst case is that maybe there is no book I could finish reading this year.

Judging by the massive internet effect on adults, it is reasonable to limit screen time for young kids. Audiovisual contents are indeed desirable for kids. Thus, it might reduce their focus and attention span. Studies have shown that overused gadgets on kids may harm the function of their brains, primarily related to decreasing attention and cognitive ability and increasing the tendency of aggressive behavior [2]. During this pandemic year, parents have watched and witnessed their children's growth depending on screens for every aspect of their education. There is no turning back to the time when learning involved hitting the actual books. It is noteworthy to inherit the positive family value and quality reading activity by providing suitable books for kids, stimulating their imagination, or taking time to read aloud with kids. 

Literacy intelligence is an essential factor in growth in child development. The reading interest in Indonesia still needs improvement. Indonesia's literacy rate ranks 60 out of 61 countries surveyed, below Thailand, and only outranks Botswana [3]. Despite the low interest in reading, data has shown that most people in Indonesia do online activities for about 9 hours a day [4].

Admittedly, committing to holding one book and reading it slowly and passionately without distraction becomes a real problem. It takes willpower to battle against powerful modern forces: our phones and constantly changing feeds on social platforms that we should take notice of. There should be some reading tactics in place. We can arrange a specific time to read (before sleeping or 10 minutes a day is just more than okay) and install digital books reader on the phone (e-book and e-library) to make reading more accessible and convenient. Putting books inside the bag on purpose can be a good idea, so we have an excuse to read on the way home or just to kill time waiting. There are also some reading challenges to join and setting targets such as one book per month, one book per semester, or one book one year. It is super okay!

The fun fact is, behind one page of books which looks boring, there are a lot of benefits gained from reading. Reading increases and stimulates brain activities and connectivity. Therefore, it keeps our minds younger to process new experiences and information. It is also great for maintaining our mental health by reducing stress and anxiety [5].

So, what books will you read today?

This article has been published in Media Defis Edition XXX-2021.