Hi everyone - hope you had fabulous weekend! We went to see Captain America on Friday afternoon, cooked and cleaned yesterday and had our good friends Ben and Geraldine over for supper last night.
Today will be a quiet day: a walk I hope if the weather holds, some more spring cleaning, revisions on my book.
And reading.
One of the greatest joys of my new life has been the luxury (and yes, for those of you who are working so hard, I am well aware it is a luxury!) of reading for pleasure again.
For the past ten years, I was working so hard that I really only had time to read work-related material and email (ack!); I was lucky if I was able to find time to get through 10 books a year.
When I started to read again for pleasure, I discovered that it was a muscle that had atrophied; I struggled to stay focused on what I was reading and not get up and run around and do ten other things. I also felt guilty when I read, as if it was some naughty pleasure that had to be justified because I was always so behind in my work reading. And not only that, I found I was so used to flitting around online that it seemed difficult to read linear text.
I'm not alone.
I read with interest an article in the Sydney Morning Herald: How the internet is making it harder to read books.
It turns out that our online world is impacting our brains' ability to read deeply.
The skimming and skipping about of digital reading is making it more difficult to read traditionally, despite evidence that demonstrates that we learn and retain more from reading materials in print, not online.
There is great alarm that if we do not help children to master both types of reading - online and traditional - we may create a generation of people who are in many ways incapable of wrapping their brains around complex text, creating what the article calls "twitter brains".
Instead, strategies need to be developed to help people have "bi-literate brains".
This is intriguing to me. My daughter is an English literature major at university; though she is online constantly, she has developed the ability to read dense 18th and 19th century literature, although she concedes that is often easier to do if she is in a room without a computer calling to her (which, by the way, is no different than how the TV or local pub used to call my name when I was at university!).
My son, on the other hand, struggles with this. He likes to read, but reads less and less unless he is really sucked into the story (and when he is he can get through some pretty dense stuff such as Tolkien). My advice to him would be to read 5 pages a day of traditional text, to not let the muscle atrophy any further.
I recently read that Egmont Press has apparently abridged Winnie the Pooh for its story app in order to make it more action-oriented and shorter for today's children who don't have the attention span to get through the classic.
What would Pooh say to this? "Oh Bother!"
This is an interesting topic and it has certainly given me food for thought.
I'd love to hear your thoughts about this.
Are you seeing the effects of the online world in your ability to read and concentrate?
Are you seeing it with your children?
If yes, how are you combating it?
Have a great Sunday and stay safe out there!
Both my kids love to read but do not have the time while in college. Both Hunter and I read to them (Hunter did Harry Potter) until they were 12-13. We got them library cards when little and really tried to make reading enjoyable. Their school required summer reading, which we enforced but they had one required and then two which they could choose. I am not a big reader and get easily distracted...call me a goldfish. But then again, I never was. Miss Em...and yes I am bragging...read War and Peace last summer just because. She has a desire to read all the classics. Son prefers fantasy and war books and reads extremely fast and retains almost all. I believe the online world is affecting me more than my chitlins.
ReplyDeleteBB - that is so interesting! I think that reading is more natural and enjoyable for some than others for a whole host of reasons, just like loving music or something else. War and Peace. I may do that one this summer! I am trying to do a classic for every 5th book, and that one may take me the whole summer!
DeleteShe really did enjoy the book.
DeleteSo interesting Wendy. I work in a school, and a teacher was showing her class a book that had parts that could only be "unlocked" with an ipad to enhance the text. (The doll became 3-d on the ipad's screen, a song played at a certain part of the text....) I was a little taken back. My first reaction to here was that all of these uber creative things were dreamed up by a generations of people who had black and white book print, news print, and possibly even black and white tv. BY adding so many layers and sensory objects to everything, I think we are "pre-digesting"material and limiting children's ability to create. Although the medium exists in which to create, the groundwork doesn't, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteKnityarns - it is funny - I was talking about this to my son and his best friend this morning. Although they are HUGE movie buffs, they both believed that reading is best, because YOU imagine the world, not someone else. Having said that, I always loved pop-up books, and some of these ebooks have that quality about them. There is a book by William Joyce that is supposed to be amazing for its visuals in an app (cannot recall which one), but Joyce's work is picture books which I think are more natural fits for the kind of thing you describe above. On the other hand, I can see this making history, science come alive!
DeleteI think attention span/focus is affected by online interaction. I see "hyperlinking" in many people's conversations---the jumping from one subject to another before really finishing the first subject. I would not say that is just young people. And perhaps that is more than the effects of the online world--perhaps it is a sort of hyperactivity that is exacerbated by online interaction. My own children can read and do read but not to a great extent; they are more movie types. I think I am reading less than a few years ago and it is partly due to distractions both online and anywhere at all. Just plain distracted!
ReplyDeleteBarb - I hear you! It is what I call my "hummingbird brain". One of the things I am doing now is stopping myself from multi-tasking - focus on one thing at a time. Tell myself I will read for 30 minutes no matter what. The joyful exception is when you find a fantastic book, isn't it? Then you can read all day!
DeleteCompletely and totally agree with your analogy that reading is a muscle that must be exercised! As a high school English teacher, I see this problem daily. Students are not able to read--it has gotten so bad that I have to read aloud to them because they simply will not or can not get through a chapter on their own as homework. I tell them that it's a skill they will need in college, but they apparently think they will miraculously become more mature and academic in a few short months. The same thing is happening with writing - the can't manage an extended paper that analyzes the meaning of text because they are so used to Googling everything and letting someone else think for them. It's really quite worrisome for our future. But that's probably the same thing that adults said about my generation, and those before me. Personally, I love to read but struggle to find the time between job responsibilities and house cleaning, laundry, etc. Maybe I should think of it as exercise and schedule it in as well!
ReplyDeleteI see that with my kids a bit, too. And it is so easy now to simply cut and paste and re-arrange arguments you find online! But I am firmly convinced that it is the good writers who will inherit the earth. I found more and more over the past two decades, many staff simply were incapable of excellent writing and analysis.
DeleteI LOVE the goldfish data! I KNEW our little Fishy was smarter than fish get credit for!
ReplyDeleteThat same article was in our Washington Post this week. My husband is in your ex-boat -- he will only read his music magazines b/c he doesn't have the time to commit to anything longer.
My kids are still in elementary, so we haven't gotten to the major technology dependence yet, and we are lucky to have a lower school principal who has made reading for pleasure her number one priority. My kids came from a PK-2 grade school that taught reading using a phonovisual method, and every kid became a very proficient reader, but they did not require any reading for fun, and as a result, my kids were not pleasure readers and by the time they entered their current school in 3rd grade, they were already testing below grade level in reading b/c reading for pronunciation is totally different from reading for comprehension. Their current school requires daily reading for 30-45 minutes, anything they want (although they are encouraged to read at their appropriate levels), and they take quizzes on the books online (which the kids seem to like) with results tracked by the school. The kids don't start out loving it (my kids hated it) but reading for fun is almost certainly something that will grow on a kid, and the kids learn (albeit a forced learning) that reading is truly a pleasure. I am very grateful for this principal and for pushing reading like this, because I know that I would not have been able to get my kids to read like this unless it was a requirement for school.
For me, the internet has replaced magazines, not books. It's where I go when I need information or a quick interesting read (like your blog :)), but I so look forward to that quiet time after the kids have gone to bed to get in my reading. It's almost like meditation for me; if I've had a bad day, the distraction of a good book is enough to get rid of that agitated feeling of the day, and when I'm done reading, I can look back at the day with a little better perspective. Plus, as a SAHM, my experiences are pretty dang limited, so it's nice to read about other things happening outside my little bubble...
Audrey - you made me laugh about your goldfish! I think reading for fun is the key in the younger grades in school, since so many children come from families where there are no books. In New Brunswick an ungodly number of adults are functionally illiterate. It is a crime and it is linked in many ways to poverty and lack of access to reading materials outside of the classroom, so the more they can read in school, the greater their chance of having passable reading and writing skills. I think you are right about the magazines; except for a very few, I simply don't read them anymore! I can't sleep without first reading!
DeleteHi Wendy, I think you make very good points. I don't read books as much any more, perhaps mainly because I prefer to read non-fiction and I see a lot of what interests me online, in news stories etc. When I was proofreading my friend's book for him, each chapter took me forever as I would come across topics that I didn't know much about and so would research further online. However, I'm sad to hear about the abridged Winnie the Poo story app - reading a story is not just about the plot points, but about how the author puts the words together. I often re-read books just because I enjoy the writing style so much.
ReplyDeleteBoth my boys are big readers; I read to them constantly when they were young (I like to think I did at least one thing right!). My older son is also an English Literature major (and aspiring author). The younger one likes literature, but is also into politics and issues; he has a Kobo, but reads a lot in print too. I actually had to tell my older son to STOP buying books as he was just running out of money!!
Patricia - I suspect you did more than one thing right! ;-)
DeleteI love reading nonfiction as well. I am like a sponge these days!
I wish someone would tell me to stop buying books!
Hmm, my head's a morass of fast digital chips, I cannot read a book any more. I need to be locked away in a log cabin somewhere.
ReplyDeleteTabs - there is something to be said for that! I find once I pick up a book and really get into it, I am fine. But I usually have 4 books on the go - right now I am reading Razor's Edge, an Agatha Christie (have never read her!), The Secret History and Rob Lowe's new autobiography. Honestly - that is as deranged as it sounds!
DeleteI can barely read a magazine now, I have no attention span, it's scary.
DeleteI am a former library clerk and special needs worker. Books are very near and dear to my heart so I always have a stack at the bedside waiting....right now I am immersed in The a Birth House by Ami McKay....it is her first novel and if this does not keep a readers attention I do not know what will!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately my children who are adults find very little time to read....perhaps book clubs should be mandatory!
Hostess - I think it is hard when you are working, isn't it? Plus I think that people don't know what they like. I think workplace book clubs are a great idea! I know Dani's bookclub keeps me going on the classics!!! I am adding The Birth House to my "to read" list! Thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteI am a former library clerk and special needs worker. Books are very near and dear to my heart so I always have a stack at the bedside waiting....right now I am immersed in The a Birth House by Ami McKay....it is her first novel and if this does not keep a readers attention I do not know what will!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately my children who are adults find very little time to read....perhaps book clubs should be mandatory!
Hmm, I just spent two solid days on the couch devouring the "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" YA trilogy . . . attention span isn't my problem, but fiction addiction is!
ReplyDeleteI hear you!
DeleteI noticed my reading has gone down since I got my iPad. My PC want so bad bc turning it on was so slow that I would only turn it on three times a day tops but now I have my iPad with me at home and I rarely watch he news or tv without it! It is scary so I have balanced it so that my phone only calls and texts and I don't check anything when not at home. I know I can't concentrate anymore and I can't do one thing anymore...it's kind of scary and funny enough later this week I am going to try and do a digital detox. I doubt I will last but I feel my vortexes are mutating as we speak!
ReplyDeletekeep us posted Naomi! I have thought of doing the same!
DeleteAs a longtime school teacher of language arts I spent many an hour trying to understand why some students did not like to read, especially the boys. I wasn't alone of course as most of the education research studies conducted from forever are on this very question. I love to read and always have. My two adult children read for pleasure a lot of the time as well as for their work. But they are females. My basic theory is that females like to immerse themselves in the lives of others while males want to experience life for themselves. Both do the other but less. I taught gifted males who read what they were interested in --mostly non fiction and were quite capable of reading the fiction I assigned but they would not have done so on their own and were quick to tell me that. The female students lapped up the assigned fiction and seldom chose non fiction. That is why I believe males took to the computer age more quickly especially the gaming aspects. I would hazard a guess that there are a lot less male readers of fiction or even lengthy non fiction in the 50 plus age group and they were not raised in the internet world. We can look to the computer age to identify differences in our reading patterns maybe but I don't think it has the impact on the content or amount that is read anymore than whatever it was that kept our generation from reading as much as the "authorities" thought they should be. I believe we need to have our kids engaged in ideas, concepts, issues as well as concrete action in as many ways as we can. In this way they will seek the answers and if we are careful to keep some of those answers in the form of the printed word they will read.
ReplyDeleteThe key is to ensure they become critical readers so they will know how to question the source of the information as much as what the information is. My thoughts for this Sunday afternoon!
really interesting Mary!
DeleteI think the online world replaced tv for me, I've never stopped reading, I read every night for at least 2 hours so I get through several books a month.
ReplyDeleteMy son never did get into reading but he has a brain for physics and mathematics. He did read a bit and we read Tolkien to him. Today he is not a reader but he is knee deep into a physics degree which doesn't leave much time for anything else. Older daughter grew up on the computer and with social media but she is a devoted and serious reader. Studying classics is no joke and she reads literature for fun on school breaks. She does discipline her computer use, but that's her personality. I'm worried about my youngest because books do not draw her in at all. She is the online kid for sure, but she is also highly verbal so reading might have been a challenge for her regardless.
I think we need to limit our time online. I make an effort to do so, I try to stay away from my laptop on certain days and I usually put it away by 7 in the evening so I can turn to having a bath and reading books. It definitely affects my attention span if I don't do this! I easily go to Hamster Brain!
Dani - I have to do the same thing! I believe some of the research is isolating readers versus non-readers as well, but it would be interesting to see if the non-readers are even more or less drawn into the jumping around aspect of the net. So interesting!
DeleteHow was Captain America?? I just rewatched the first movie with my boys -- I may not have twitter brain when it comes to reading but I do with movies. Every time I watch a movie it's the first time, which I generally view as a plus as I am very easily amused. But, it means that when a sequel comes out I have to rewatch the original. In the marvel world, that is getting to be a problem -- for capt amer. 2 that means watching capt 1, avengers, and Thor 2 before I can head to the theater. Luckily my kids indulge me and are happy to rewatch with me. I wonder what it means that I so love these very old school male super heroes??? (Altho, I think I love Loki the best!)
ReplyDeleteMy all time favorite Loki clip:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-h4ulFK2Ek
Audrey - I am crazy about Loki! I liked this movie very much! Scarlett Johansson also has a much bigger role and was very good. I am a sucker for these kinds of films, too, and I would have benefited from watching the first one again!
DeleteRedoing Pooh! The ambling, nonaction-packed is what it is! Sad. Great to read aloud with expression/voices.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a reader and computers don't have a very big grip on me(yet). I think it's just a characteristic, too, and perhaps not all the internet. My oldest has always read and concentrated like a laser, while my younger has never had a natural inclination to read and has to "vow' to read more. They both think younger kids are much more affected by this. The computers/devices never come to bed; I do have friends for whom that's been a real problem.
Lane - I think it is a real problem. Even myself - I often use my kindle in bed because I can make the font size large, but I must be very disciplined to NOT check the internet or email! And sometimes that is hard!
DeleteThey have abridged Winnie The Pooh? I'm horrified but not surprised. My reading "muscle" has definitely gone flabby...and I'm not happy about it. I listen to books while I drive and am on the Internet WAY too much. My kindle is set to the largest font so I can almost read it without my glasses. But the truth?? I don't enjoy any of it as much as I do snuggling into a comfy chair with a nice cup of tea!! Now the question...can I go back? I'm going to try. xoxo Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteI am with you Jennifer! While I am glad for the kindle when I need it, I prefer a real, live book myself!!!
DeleteI don't find the internet to have altered my reading one way or the other ... except possibly to have increased it as I now have absolutely instant gratification of ordering a book on amazon on my iPad and having it delivered instantly to the Kindle app. My kids love to "read" books but still can't manage letters themselves. We read 2 short picture books each bedtime, and I am thinking we might move on to easy chapter books soon -- I think they could manage/might like hearing chapter books read aoud at bedtime.
ReplyDeleteI do think reading, critical analysis, and writing are super-important skills that always need to be developed and improved, but, then again, as a lawyer a huge part of my work is analysis of text and drafting up arguments.
M - I would think with your occupation, you would have one very strong reading muscle!!!!
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