When People Read Less

If most people are not into reading, nonjoiners would do the exact opposite. They'd start reading more. 

Most people prefer watching videos to reading write-ups, especially when videos are made more available today. Some experts say watching is less work for the brain (especially passive watching) because words are "served" you and "explained" through the animated images seen on the screen. All you have to do is sit back and receive. Not much brain work involved. If I were you I won't join this fad. Be a nonjoiner.

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash.

And "receive" here is often passive, add the experts. You just take in or "swallow" everything that is fed you without question or critical thinking. Thus, there are folks who think that an actor playing a villainous role in a movie is bad in real life and the protagonist is a real hero. Worse, that they really did "kill" the characters they killed in a movie. 

Reality Check

Passive watching lessens (sometimes even destroys) mind creativity when people let what they watch define their reality and just passively accept it. Unlike when you read, your mind works extra to create the scenes you read in books or news items. However, both watching and reading can create a false world for you if you just take in everything that is shown or said without critical thinking and exposure to the real life out there.

But with active watching and critical reading--plus a healthy exposure to real, everyday life--both activities can help sharpen your mind and make it healthy. Whether your mind is fed via reading or watching, three things are vital to screen out ideas harmful to the mind and take in that which is beneficial to mental growth.

1. Critical thinking
2. Exposure to real life
3. Focus

Focus is vital in today's easy access to a lot of media and videos online. We can easily switch channel or site if our minds are not entertained. This lessens our ability to focus, says one article on SoundAndVision.Com. Before the advent of the Net, we focused on what we watched because we didn't enjoy instant replay or had any quick-switch site or channel option unless we got up from the couch and turned the channel knob. Or until the remote got into the picture. Says Sound and Vision:

Today, with so many other technologies competing for our entertainment time and focus—and with so many chances to time-shift and place-shift programming—TV viewing is often done in a passive, near-ADD manner. In fact, most of us do practically everything but watch TV when we are watching TV.

But more experts are agreed on having a good reading foundation at an early age to build up the three screening-out factors above. If a child gets his basics properly on reading, all three targets are hit. This is why kids in kindergarten are taught how to read, first and foremost, than how to watch videos. It won't do him or her any good to watch videos so well if reading is neglected--especially how letters connect to form a word and how words connect to form ideas. 

An article on TopperLearning.Com about a poet's observation says this:

The poet also feels that due to watching TV (or we can say "videos") continuously, children cannot use their imagination to understand how a fantasy or fairytale functions. Their minds get used to virtual images or virtual reality. The poet believes that children only believes (sic) what they watch for hours on TV. Their thought processes get blurred and they cannot form their own opinions. The child is not able to analyse or interpret a thing. He really loves to watch what is shown on TV without doing much of thinking. There is no brain activity, resulting in the darkness of the mind and a decrease (or compromise) in brain sharpness. [Roald Dahl]

Reading for Teens

Less teens read books today, especially when the lure of online games (which they soak their minds in for hours daily) train them to get more satisfaction from videos and enjoy the ease and entertainment. It also translates them to the make-believe world they can partly control and be heroes in. Reading doesn't offer them that. The authors and writers control everything there and create the scenes and decide the entire story. All they can do is flow with it.

Videos are generally good and aid kids and teens in their studies, particularly in research. But what we're talking of here is wrong use or over use of videos or worse, addiction to them. Students can simply copy-paste write-ups and submit that as their "research." Too much reliance on this can eventually lead to hating reading to get answers from. And if teens get used to copy-paste training, think of what they'd become when they graduate. 

Furthermore, this method encourages headline reading which makes them merely read titles and subtitles and copy-paste the article without reading it thoroughly. Headline reading is also what turns many into instant "experts" on Facebook--confidently stating things they do not really understand. But reading can help them delve into things and get that habit while they're still young. Improves their grammar, too.

The site, Family Education, says this about teens that have good reading habits:

Reading as a teen leads to success. When teens read more than just their classroom assignments, research clearly shows that they generally do well in school. First of all, the extra reading expands their vocabularies. It also shows them how different writers put down their thoughts leading to better writing skills. And teens who read more serious literary works gain skills in handling complex ideas.

Reading for Adults

Number one benefit for adults is a safeguard against dementia. Says an article on BeingPatient.Com:

Reading every day may reduce dementia risk, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in July 2018.

Researchers at Hong Kong’s Elderly Health Centres tracked more than 15,000 people ages 65 and older for five years. All of the participants were dementia-free at the study’s conception.

When adults stop reading, dementia cases can soar, especially when they rely on what they watch on TV or movies. If you've not been trained to read as a kid or teenager, reading may become painful as you grow older. The brain cannot stand or appreciate reading and analyzing what is being read and just retreat to what is fed it from passive watching.

Conclusion

Watching videos is not bad, as aforementioned here. Both watching and reading can be beneficial if done properly and with the right balance. I enjoy a lot of movies and videos, but I do so always with a critical and analytical mind. The problem is that, today, there is a serious imbalance in favor of passive watching, which is alarming. And it often leads to poor understanding and judgment. 

So develop the habit of reading regardless of what age you're in. Help your kids and teens develop it. Buy books and read. E-books are more convenient when downloaded to your smartphone so you can easily access them anywhere and anytime as long as you have your phone with you. Consider what Harappa.Education says:

One of the advantages of reading is that it engages various parts of your brain. When you read, you exercise your comprehension abilities and your analytical abilities. It fires up your imagination and stimulates the memory centers of your mind. It helps recall information as well as stabilize your emotions.

The importance of a reading habit is that it strengthens mental muscles. Reading is one of the best mental workouts there is. It’s been found that regular mental stimulation can slow down and possibly even prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Reading keeps the mind agile and young.