 |
| Decline of the American Book Lover-From the Atlantic.com |
I finished reading a well written and engaging book just a few months ago.
https://davidbkatague.blogspot.com/2019/10/book-review-box-of-nolis-bones-by-felix.html
I enjoyed it very much and felt that it was better than watching a good television show.
THIS FEELING PROMPTED TO DO AN INTERNET SEARCH ON THE BENEFITS OF READING VERSUS TELEVISION WATCHING.
There’s
a perception that books are good, while TV is bad. Spend a day curled
up with a book and you’re an intellectual, but spend a day watching your
favorite show and you become a couch potato.
Similar to how candy gives you cavities and sun tanning is bad for
our skin, it’s common knowledge that reading books is good for you. It
increases your knowledge and makes you think. Watching television on the
other hand kills off brain cells.
But why is that? Why can’t watching TV be just as educational as reading a book? For example, does watching the show
Game of Thrones lower your intelligence, while reading the books does the exact opposite?
After all, there are all sorts of books. Some good, some poorly
written. The same applies to shows as well. Is the situation as simple
as categorizing books as good and TV as bad?
What Science Says About Books and Television
In 2013, a
study
was performed at Tohoku University in Japan. A team led by Hiraku
Takeuchi examined the effects of television on the brains of 276
children, along with amount of time spent watching TV and its long-term
effects.
Researcher Takeuchi found that the more TV the kids watched, parts of
their
brain associated with higher arousal and aggression levels became
thicker. The frontal lobe also thickened, which is known to lower
verbal reasoning ability. The more hours of television the kids watched, the lower their verbal
test results became. These negative effects in the brain happened
regardless of the child’s age, gender, and economic background.
In the same year, a
study
was done on how reading a novel affected the brain. Gregory Burns and
his colleagues at Emory University wanted to see the before and after
effects of reading based on fMRI readings.
College students were asked to read
Pompeii by Robert Harriss,
a thriller based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy. The book
was chosen due to its strong narration and a dramatic plot based on true
events.
After reading the novel, the students had increased connectivity in
parts of the brain that were related to language. There was also
increased activity in the sensory motor region of the brain, suggesting
that readers experienced similar sensations to the characters in the
book.
Why These Activities Have Opposite Effects on Us
So far, reading’s looking pretty good compared to television. We can
see that it calms the nerves, increases language and reasoning, and can
even keep you mentally alert as you age. TV, on the other hand, has the
opposite effect.
But we still haven’t gotten to
why that’s the case.
Let’s look first at a
study on how preschoolers and toddlers interact with their mothers during TV viewing versus reading a book.
The results found that watching TV resulted in lower amounts and
quality of communication between the mother and child. During an
educational TV program, mothers made few comments to their children, and
if they did, it was unrelated to what their children said.
On the other hand, reading books together increased the amount and
level of communication. Mothers were more likely to ask their child
questions, respond to their child’s statements and questions, and
explain concepts in greater detail.
Beyond mothers and their children, it’s not just an issue of the
quality of the TV program or the book. It seems that the nature of the
activities themselves is what’s causing the differences.
Television is designed to be passive. After switching to the show you
like, you can just sit back and watch everything unfold without effort
on your part. You’re less likely to pause to reflect on what’s
happening. TV also presents ideas and characters on a surface level. Shows don’t
have the luxury of describing or explaining situations in great detail,
since they need to keep viewers visually entertained.
TV programs are
fast-paced in order to keep people from switching.
Books, on the other hand, are a more proactive form of entertainment
and learning. The reader has to concentrate on what’s being said and to
think through concepts in the book. When we read, we’re forced to use
our imaginations to fill in the gaps.
Books also have the advantage of being able to describe everything in
greater depth. While television is mostly composed of dialogue between
characters, books can walk readers through scenes, characters’ thoughts,
and provide lengthier commentary.
Source:
http://www.jumpstartyourdreamlife.com/books-vs-tv/
Formed: July 2013
