So, you know, it’s funny, all this talk about screen time, right? Everyone’s like, “Kids these days, always on their phones, they don’t read books anymore.” And yeah, I get it. I really do. My nephew, bless his little heart, seems to be permanently fused with his iPad. Like, I tried to get him to look at a picture book the other day, one of those pop-up ones, remember those? So cool. And he just… swiped it. Like it was a touchscreen. I nearly fell over.
But then, I also think, wait a minute. What are they doing on those screens? A lot of it is reading, isn’t it? Like, okay, maybe it’s not always Dickens. Or even, you know, a proper novel. Sometimes it’s Twitter threads, or Reddit, or… I don’t know, fanfiction. My niece, the older one, she reads so much fanfiction. Like, thousands of words a day. And yeah, it’s not always, you know, literary masterpieces, but it’s still reading. It’s words on a screen, and her brain is processing them, understanding plot, character, all that jazz. Is that not reading? Because if it’s not, then what is? Is it just the medium that matters?
Honestly, I’ve gone back and forth on this so many times. Like, I used to be a total purist. Physical books only. The smell, the feel, turning the pages. Oh, speaking of which, did you know they make candles that smell like old books? Yeah, saw it online. Almost bought one. But then I was like, that’s kinda… sad, isn’t it? Like mourning something you can still totally do. Just pick up a book! My dog, by the way, he hates when I read physical books. Always trying to nudge my hand for pets. Drives me crazy. He’s fine with the Kindle though, less hand movement I guess.
Anyway, so yeah, physical books. Love ’em. But then I got a Kindle, like, eight years ago? And it changed everything. Suddenly, I could read in bed without a stupid book light that woke up my partner. I could take like, twenty books on vacation in a tiny bag. And the dictionary lookup? Oh my god. Lifesaver. I actually look up words now instead of just guessing from context and moving on. Which, I’m pretty sure, makes me a better reader, right? So tech, in that instance, is totally pro-reed. Pro-reading. Get it? Pro-reed. See what I did there? No? Okay.
But then, the flip side. Notifications. You’re deep into a really good story, you know, the climax is coming, and then bing! “Your Amazon order has shipped!” Or “Aunt Carol liked your picture from 2017!” And suddenly you’re out of it. The immersion is broken. It’s like trying to watch a movie in a room where someone keeps flicking the lights on and off. So, what’s the answer? Turn off notifications? Sure, in theory. But then I miss actual important stuff. Like, the other day, my car alarm went off, and I only knew because my phone vibrated with a notification from the app. So, you can’t just turn everything off. It’s a balance. Always a balance.
You know, my friend Mark, he’s a total Luddite. He still uses a flip phone. A flip phone. I saw him reading a newspaper, a physical newspaper, at a coffee shop the other day. And I was like, “Mark, dude, you know you can get all this on your phone, right?” And he just scoffed. “Too many ads,” he said. And he’s got a point. Websites are a nightmare with ads sometimes. Pop-ups, videos that auto-play. It’s obnoxious. So maybe for some types of reading, like news, physical still wins for sheer readability. But then I think about how much news I read every day on my phone, from like, five different sources, for free. Would I buy five newspapers? No. So again, tech is enabling a different kind of reading, a broader consumption.
What about audiobooks? This is a huge one for me. Is listening to a book reading? Some people say no, it’s just listening. But then, you’re still getting the story, the words, the information. Your brain is still processing narrative. I listen to audiobooks when I’m driving, or cleaning the house, or walking the dog. Times when I absolutely cannot hold a physical book or look at a screen. So, without audiobooks, I’d just be listening to music or podcasts or… nothing. So, for sure, audiobooks are pro-reed. They expand the opportunities for “reading” into times and places that were previously off-limits. I mean, my grandmother, she has macular degeneration, can’t read print anymore. Audiobooks are her lifeline to stories. So how can you say that’s not reading? It just doesn’t make sense.
I guess the core of it is, people worry about depth versus breadth. We read so much more broadly now, snippets, headlines, quick takes. But do we go as deep? Do we sit with a single text for hours and really absorb it? I used to do that all the time. Sundays were for reading. Like, whole books in one sitting. Now, I pick up a book, read a chapter, check my phone, read another chapter, reply to an email. My attention span is shot. Is that tech’s fault? Probably. But also… maybe it’s just the way the world is now. Faster. More interconnected. It’s hard to fight that tide.
Remember that time I was stuck in the DMV for like, three hours? Total nightmare. But I had my phone, and I just pulled up a random classic novel I’d never gotten around to reading, probably public domain or something, and just… read. Like, properly read. The whole time. If I hadn’t had my phone, I would have just stared at the clock, getting angry. So, tech saved me there. It turned a miserable wait into an opportunity to read. That’s definitely pro-reed.
Oh, and then there’s the accessibility side of things. Text-to-speech for people with reading difficulties. Adjustable font sizes for aging eyes. Screen readers for the visually impaired. All of that is phenomenal. Absolutely incredible. Makes reading available to so many more people. You can’t argue with that. That’s, like, peak pro-reed.
But then, sometimes I feel like I’m reading so much about things, I don’t actually do them. Like, I’ll read ten articles about how to organize my closet, and my closet is still a disaster. Or I’ll read reviews of a million hiking trails, and never actually go on one. It’s like the reading becomes a substitute for the action. Is that good? I don’t know. My dad always said, “An ounce of practice is worth a pound of theory.” He used to say that about everything. He’d probably hate my phone usage. He used to make us turn off the TV and read for an hour every night. And he’d read with us. He’d be sitting there, newspaper, or a history book. My mom, usually a novel. We’d all just… read. That was nice.
Maybe it’s not about tech versus no tech. It’s about intentionality. Are you mindlessly scrolling? Or are you actively engaging with text? Is it just distraction, or is it learning, or enjoying a story? I mean, I see people on the bus reading graphic novels on their tablets. And those are awesome! My friend’s kid, the one who swipes the physical books, he loves digital graphic novels. He’s totally into the story, following the panels, understanding the character expressions. It’s narrative art. That’s good stuff.
So, yeah, tech tales pro-reed. It’s complicated. It’s messy. It’s not a clear cut “good” or “bad.” It’s everything all at once. Like, I wouldn’t give up my e-reader for anything. But I also still buy physical books. And I love going to the library, even though half the time I just get ebooks from there these days anyway. It’s just… another tool in the toolbox, right? Some tools are better for some jobs. But the goal, the reading, that’s still the main thing.
Right, I think I need more coffee. This mug is almost empty. You know, I bought this mug at that little pottery shop down the street? The one that closed last year. Sad. Used to love that place. But yeah, coffee. My brain is starting to wander too much. But that’s kinda the point, isn’t it? Tech and reading. Just keep reading. However you do it. Just read. That’s my final word on it. For now.
