There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the development and variety of consumer technology has made numerous strides towards improving the productivity of everyday lives for Americans. However, at what cost does making a shift completely towards technology affect our mental state? In a recent article titled “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age by Ferris Jabr, a debate considers at what extent we depend on technology for information, particularly when it comes to general reading.
People read for various reasons whether for work, school, research and ideas, or just recreation. The availability of smart phones, laptops, and tablets has allowed many Americans to save a trip to the library, by accessing the world-wide-web for their use. While the accessibility to information is attractive to many, scientists argue that our reliance on technology has altered our reading mechanics.
Author presents a compelling article that challenges people and engineers to consider the differences between tablet reading and paper reading. On the surface, tablet reading has naturally come about just as many aspects in our lives have altered through technological advancements. However, the dependence on technology to perform our most basic functions has allowed researchers to observe key changes in people’s daily behavior. He dives into this issue head-on by addressing numerous experiments conducted to show the dangers of tablet reading. His ability to derive conclusions from key research and provide strong insight behind his reasoning provides a compelling argument that our most effective reading habits are away from a screen. By the end of his article, readers will be surprised just how easily reading from a tablet impacts lives, and surprisingly not for the better despite the knowledge that reading is an important component of brain health.
The Science behind Electronic Reading
In the article, a YouTube video is the basis of his hypothesis, citing Jean-Louis Constanza for saying that Technology Codes our Minds. He raises the critical question, “How exactly does the technology we use to read change the way we read?” A recent article titled “Science has Great News for People who Read Actual Books” by Rachel Grate, cited a research experiment conducted by Anne Mangen that found people were better at remembering orders of events in a short story when reading a paperback as opposed to a Kindle. She questions the authenticity of a reading experience that is electronic, and found that the process of page turning and the ability to turn back to previous pages can maintain one’s sensory experience and preserve long-term memory.
Numerous polls, reports, and experiments have supported the science. The research all shows that there are many physical limitations to electronic reading. It can be difficult to turn pages to previous moments in electronic books, and this may deter a reader from going back to recall events. The general conclusion is that most people who read electronically cannot remember material as well as when reading on paper, which affects reader’s abilities to obtain knowledge and keep the brain functioning at a high level.
Reading Mechanics
A potential shortcoming to Jabr’s article is that it fails to address personal preferences to reading styles, speeds, and methods. The challenge behind reading is that there has been no universal method for being a great reader. Different types of people are able to read text at specific speeds with specific techniques, while some people may alter their reading habits based on the purpose behind their literature. His reference to Grate’s article however does highlight that the main difference in reading mechanics over time has been a shift from reading in a linear fashion to recall sensory details, to text skimming as a method to capture basic points in literature in a more efficient manner. While some purposes of literature can be to capture a few key points, the exercise behind reading does not necessarily preserve brain functionality as suggested earlier by Mangen. We may get what we need out of reading, but that is all we are getting.
The ability to skim articles allows us to consume ourselves in literature at faster rates, which may be efficient in a timely manner but may limit the intrinsic health benefits that are to come from our human ability to read. Jabr’s historical insight points out that while our human history has been around for at least tens of thousands of years, research suggests that reading had only been invented around three to four thousand B.C. It suggests that reading is not a skill embedded into our DNA, but rather taught as a behavioral skill and is capable of modification. Author relates reading as a skillset that comes about “from weaving together various regions of neural tissue devoted to other abilities, such as spoken language, motor coordination or vision.” It highlights the importance of practicing reading and defines it as a mental workout in that those who read often and in the most efficient manner for the body will achieve better health standing.
He also lands upon a critical issue behind tablet reading in our attitudes toward the literature. He highlights a unique 2005 experiment based out of San Jose State University that captures an overwhelming conclusion that people do not value tablet reading as a serious affair, even if they are invested in recreational reading. It aligns with his concerns that he expresses on multiple occasions that the work associated behind operating a reading tablet cuts down greatly on available energy, forcing readers to involuntarily locate keywords rather than engage deep into the literature.
These concerns shed light on Grate’s key conclusions in her article about how reading in a slow and focused manner is the most optimal for brain health. She found that those who converted more to tablet reading were disengaging their brain with linear reading that led to higher stress and decline in concentration. She additionally found that tablet readers showed less empathy towards their literature and even found that screen reading can cause our body to face challenges with forcing our body to sleep.
The Takeaways of Tablet Reading
The relevance of this research looks upon both the short term and long term effects on personal health that are associated with reading. Author highlights that many readers find electronic reading to be exhausting and more physically and mentally taxing than paper. His cites the American Optometric Associations concerns regarding the exposure to computer screens that cause “eyestrain, headaches, and blurred vision.” He also refers to a study conducted in Sweden that found people complaining of higher levels of stress and tiredness that came with starring from a screen for even just 30 minutes. The overall feeling among readers was that even though reading tablets are simple to use, they consider it work to operate them.
Jabr silences the engineering optimism behind the improvements in tablet reading, as his general conclusion points out too much negativity behind the user experience and thus supports a necessity to push away technology from reading as much as possible. His conclusion raises valid points as he illustrates a variety of concerns against human health and the efficiency behind tablet reading for the user. Author does not disbar the use of electronic reading, as he provides a list of ideal sources that have made strides to produce technological reading whose content is beneficial for online reading purposes. His suggestion is that any article whose visualizations on screen that paper cannot replicate, are valid and provide a great tool for online use for users to obtain literary information. Overall, his insight will challenge society to understand how reading influences our lives, and to keep our best interests in heart when we choose how and where to access our literature.