In her TED talk What Reading Slowly Taught Me, Jacqueline Woodson spoke about her relationship with reading, and how reading slowly contributed to her ability to write better. One reason to read slowly, Woodson said, was to block out the noises around us and really connect with the writers, to live their experiences and hear their voices.
I resonate well with this point, as my reading habits have changed significantly as the world around me moves faster- I was a complete bookworm as a kid and teenager, always looking for new additions to my bookshelves, yet I have not even finished one book from start to finish for leisure/ outside of school after getting my personal laptop in Grade 12. I have tried to change the situation as I know that reading not only helped my writing at school but more importantly, broadened my perspectives and introduced me to new perspectives and cultures I would otherwise never had a chance to experience. Just as Woodson said, the world is getting noisier day by day with technology moving us forward at a faster rate; many of us today seem to have been modified by this environment to have a short attention span: we are bombarded by 5-minute long youtube videos, 15-s Tik Tok videos, and Instagram feed that never ends. All the fresh, colorful, multimodal information is conveniently a few taps away. I personally have found it hard to settle in and read books, instead of spending the time on all other distractions. Although I appreciate the fact that technology has made the process of obtaining information easier and faster (so I can listen to news or podcasts while cooking or getting ready), I kind of miss the days when I had the patience and ability to read slowly and savor every line of a book. And I do think this experience is irreplaceable by technology because reading requires one’s full attention where multitasking is impossible. Only by fully focusing on the book right in front of us can we submerge ourselves in the narrative and pay full attention to the styles of writing, which we could learn from as writers ourselves.
When revisiting the podcast The Influence You Have, I read the transcript instead of listening while multitasking. Last time, I arrived at the conclusion that we should be aware of our influence on others and not abuse this power – probably because of all the experiments mentioned, most of which had a dark twist. This time around, I noticed the hopeful note at the end of the podcast, where the host Vedantam encouraged listeners to use this ‘hidden power’ collectively to achieve something good. Reflecting on other readings we had done throughout the semester, including the ones on the ‘unlikely ally’ and ‘Asian model minority stereotype in the time of COVID’, I realized that our influence on others could also be used as a powerful weapon to tackle injustice, to break stigmas, and to induce positive behavioral changes.
No, I totally understand what you said in the very beginning with you being a bookworm because I was the same . When I got my laptop or even my phone, I just started absentmindedly consuming so much information to the point where nothing surprised or moved me.
I really agree with your points, especially how difficult it has become to read slowly because of technology. Every social media today is designed to capture all of your senses at once, and because of that I also find it difficult to read a book or even listening to an audio book.