Report Blog Entry
The Pursuit of Pleasure: we're living in a time where stimuli and dopamine are at highest regards. The inventions of social media are thrilling and tactically addictive. We don't often think about the consequences of watching through dozens of 10 second clips, or scrolling through friends, enemies, and strangers pages. Slowly, our attention spans are shrinking due to the constant distractions and influences of social media. Social media can be stressful and disengaging but how does this correlate with reading but most especially, reading in print?
Personally I find the experience of reading in print to be extremely euphoric: the crack of the book's spine, the smell of the ageing paper, the sound of flipping a page, but most importantly the complete lack of eye-strain to the brightness of my device. Reading is cultivating; it's the fine blend of entertaining yet educating. With the stress of social media, reading and literature can be a well detox. How so? Those dealing with anxiety or depression can be prescribed Bibliotherapy, a form of art therapy based on reading. Reading fiction builds and promotes empathy. It's insightful to understand the emotions of people around you as well as yourself, and to be able to communicate those ideas. There is a feeling of relatability; the feeling that there's someone else feeling and going through the same thing you do.
Besides the benefits towards anxiety and isolation, there is some cognitive benefits. Being able to understand and to even try to solve a problem is necessary to our day-to-day lives. Pursuing in puzzles, books, or anything you struggle with can reduce your risk of Alzheimers. Reading is like a jog, you have to exercise your brain as much as you have to with your body or else it will become frail and decline. The conclusion of reading and training your brain leads to training your memory and your vocabulary. To quote Dr Seuss, "The more that you read, the more things that you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." Knowledge isn't everything, but curiosity and wisdom are important. A person can argue that one cannot be of wisdom if they haven't inquired and explored things that are complex and new to them.
Since I live in Australia, I will be showcasing statistics from here: a 2021 reading survey has found that,
75% of the general population agreed that they have read at least 1 book per year.
25% of Australian adults haven't read any book in the past year. (showing an increase of less participants)
42% are occasional readers and, 37% are engaged readers
3% of readers feel they spend too much time reading, 51% wish to read more, and 41% are satisfied with their reading time.
Finding a book is like trying a new pair of shoes, it may not be a right fit so get another size.
This blog is targeted at a certain demographic; those who have the ability and time to read. We all have different situations. But, if you notice that you spend extra time on your screens, why not pick up a book?
PRINT in a Techno-Advanced World (A Mini-Essay of the Essentiality of Reading)
28 Kudos
Comments
Displaying 6 of 6 comments ( View all | Add Comment )
𝕵𝖚𝖉𝖆𝖘 𝕰𝖚𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖆 ♱
Really appreciate this mini-essay. It puts the same thoughts I've had for years in very concise terms, especially the damage that constant short-form video deals to our general population.
What I appreciate about reading (as well as any thought-out medium, really) is that it's a way to suspend your current reality and surround yourself with the reality of something unreal, yet at the same time rooted in a wider context and history.
thank you! that's also another great point!
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
⋆˚࿔ Juwana 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
This is fire
Got any book recommendations ?
that's a hard question! I'll give you a few books I enjoyed so far this year:
Oscar Wilde's, Picture of Dorian Gray - a young, handsome man unknowingly makes a wish to be eternally beautiful
Virginia Woolf's, A Room of Ones Own - An informative book about feminism and literature, "if Shakespeare was a woman"
Franz Kafka's, Metamorphosis, A man wakes up as a giant insect - I also read the Trial by Kafka... I'm getting into Kafka.
what genres are you interested in?
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
Im definitely gonna check the picture of dorian gray out!! Ive read metamorphosis and might get me new books by kafka like the trial I personally really enjoy mystery novels like the agatha kristie ones but Ive been really getting into classics in general lately
by ⋆˚࿔ Juwana 𝜗𝜚˚⋆; ; Report
hope you enjoy the book! Kafka is great with his nightmarish themes. Sadly I'm not so familiar with the mystery genre so I won't be able to help you out there!
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
benny // whalefall
i feel like i've lost the ability to read books recently....this has re-inspired me to fight back. thank you
I’m glad I can help!
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
cilica
this is high quality blog entry right here
reading not only improves cognitive functions, but it also helps you understand human nature more, it helps you relate to other humans and develop a high emotional intelligence that is so needed in current period of human history
reading also comes hand in hand with writing, authors who have written the most high quality books, classics etc. have read and contemplated about their life
writing also helps you articulate your thoughts and helps you find yourself and solve your everyday problems, it is better to pour your thoughts on paper than let them roam in your head
thus, that's why writing and reading come together perfectly, reading helps us observe and helps our critical apparatus to work better, while reading connects with writing as we pour ideas we read on paper, and writing also helps us being more introspective and we also can add our own thoughts to the ideas that inspired us from writings we have read
i highly encourage everyone to not only read, but also write their thoughts down a paper, that as well feels more natural than typing your intensively emotional thoughts on a bulletin (or any social media post)
Thank you! And that’s also a great point! I’ve been telling myself to get into journalism but never have, I will sooy though!
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
Rüzgar Burton
I LOVE THIS, I need more blogs like this, NOW!!!!! (please?)
Thank you, I’ll get back on that type-writer pronto!
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
under construction
great blog, and a very important one during a time of declining attention spans and even a decline of the natural curiosity we're supposed to foster. and I appreciate the last bit as someone who has struggled with it for reasons partly out of my control. i'm totally with this.
Thank you! 🖤
by Jo ⚧; ; Report
'course <3
by under construction; ; Report