It’s after school on a random day in the week. You’ve finished your homework, but instead of sleeping, your eyes are glued tightly to a TikTok story that you don’t even care about. Your eyes sting, your brain feels like static and you’re more stressed out than before you started scrolling.
In an age where our attention is auctioned off to the highest bidder, picking up a book is the ultimate act of rebellion. It’s an ‘offline’ mode for your brain, one that recharges your battery instead of draining it. The set of skills given to teens by reading literature is a more effective way to enjoy life and recharge your social battery rather than spending a mass amount of time plugged into the digital world that barely powers up your social capacity.
Most of us mastered how to read in elementary school, but there’s a massive difference between scanning a caption and actually processing a story. In a world full of 15-second clips and AI-generated summaries, the ability to actually digest a 300-page narrative is becoming a superpower.
“You can read, but that doesn’t mean you understand,” said freshman Ananya Munjuluri. “When you read, you’re basically special because no one else seems to be doing it.”
In a distracted world, deep focus is a rare commodity. By putting in the effort to finish a book, you’re essentially training your brain for the long run.
As Munjuluri put it, “[Finishing a book] means you’re better at critical thinking and that you know how to comprehend what you’re reading.” While everyone else is stuck in the shallow end of the ‘scroll,’ you’re developing the mental stamina to swim in the deep end.
As useful as this skill is, it seems to be fading from the hallways at school.
Freshman Madelyn Fentz was recently declared Book Bingo Champion in a contest sponsored by the Media Center. She has noticed the shift first hand.
“I don’t see as many people in the library as I usually do,” said Fentz.
Reading is a quiet trend, but one that creates a unique opportunity for those who take the time to challenge themselves.
“I do not think people, specifically teens, read enough,” said senior Jamie Jordan. “Reading helps people have a better overall understanding of what’s going on around them.”
Teens who chose not to participate in reading regularly are missing out on a keen opportunity to learn from literature. One of the most problematic reasons why students don’t yearn to read is because the books that they are told to read aren’t relatable or enjoyable.
“Literacy is one of the greatest tools you can use to empower yourself and access a better life,” said media center specialist Allison Norris. “Unfortunately, in school, we don’t always put books that are the most enjoyable in the curriculums, so when people are forced to read things they don’t want to read, it makes them think that reading it is not fun.”
Students are taught that the most important books are boring ones that don’t matter to them on a personal level, but these teens haven’t taken the time to go to a library and truly search for a book that represents themselves or their interests.
Screen time can be a huge barrier in the road for teens’ literacy education. The short form videos that are all over social media teach those kids’ brains to only pay attention for a certain amount of time, leaving no room for books.
“One of the things that really works against us in our society is content media overall has switched to short form and that has taken away the opportunity for people to practice the stamina you need for longer form reading,” Norris added.
The next time you walk past those quiet shelves, try not to see a relic of the past, but rather an opportunity to improve your future. In a world full of surface-level skimmers, choosing to dive into a book is a powerful move that can be used to knock out opponents in the game of life.
