Losing the ability to read and think deeply
I'm losing my ability to read deeply and understand what I am reading, and I am not alone. Inspired by the book Reader, Come Home, by Maryanne Wolf.
I used to sit with a book for hours, fully immersed. After putting the book down, I would still think about what I had read, processing it and making connections. This led to a deeper understanding of the material and long-term recollection.
Today, we're consumed by digital emails, chats, TikTok, social media, short blog posts, video clips, and other forms of quick consumption. This content is designed to keep us engaged.
There must be a connection between today's consumption methods and our ability to read and think deeply.
Now, I struggle to read a book with information I want to understand. My mind jumps to other things, and I can't focus enough to comprehend what I read. I often have to reread paragraphs multiple times to understand them.
Books have become difficult to read because they require more direct attention, unlike the other material I consume. My mind is no longer wired to provide the focus I need.
This is concerning.
Oddly, this doesn't apply to everything. I often become fully engaged when writing code and building software solutions. It may take a few minutes to get going, but once I do, I become so engrossed in my work that someone has to shake my shoulder to get my attention.
Do books need to be more attractive to grab my attention like writing code does? Is it because I'm creating and not consuming when coding?
Today's books are written differently. Older books are denser, with complicated words and paragraphs, and less fluff. Today's books are more straightforward, full of short stories, and tend to skim the material's surface to keep the reader engaged. (Wolf, 2018)
Fortunately, if I had these abilities in the past and slowly lost them over time, they could be reversed. Right?
My next steps sound simple but will be challenging to execute. I need to reduce short, mind-numbing consumption and replace it with more time spent on evergreen material that forces me to slow down and think. This should help rebuild the muscle of deep reading and thinking.
What does this problem mean for my children? How will they solve the world's problems if they can't sit with something for over 20 minutes?