Nowadays, we have moved to the light reading of websites and have left behind the deep reading of books and journals.
As information becomes more and more web-based, so too does the attention of the younger generations.
We rely on the internet to give us everything, from news to research, and it is having a huge impact on what we read and how we read it. We have moved away from the deep reading of different texts and journals and moved towards the skim, light reading of web posts and websites in order to get the information that we want. This affects the way that our brains process and relay information. Instead of taking in each element of the text we read, we simply find the pieces of information that serve our agendas, rather than developing our brains to help us recall the information later.
The difference between how we read
When we read deeply, we read much slower; we take in the details of different sensory descriptions and we become much more immersed in the things we read. Whereas with the light reading, we read much faster, we look for the pieces of information that we want and we don’t really look at everything else around it. This doesn’t give us all of the information available from the text and it doesn’t exercise our brains as much as deeper reading does.
Why deep reading is good for us
Deep reading activates the centres in your brain which are responsible for speech, hearing and vision, and helps them to work together to create an image in our heads. Reading in this way also develops our ability to perceive and use language, and gives us the greater ability to create more complex sentence structures and fuller descriptions.
When we read deeply, we also take in the information much better than in the case of light reading. The information is stored in the brain when we deep read and is ready to be recalled later on.
Deep reading has also been shown to make us nicer. As we read we can articulate and develop the skill to understand our emotions much better than before, and this helps us to understand emotions in others as well.
How can you develop your deep reading?
Reading things such as poems, novels, and academic reports can massively develop your writing abilities. Make sure to take your time and soak in all of the available information to create a full picture, rather than skim reading the information. Put these types of writings in your life rather than getting information only from online blogs and televisions shows, as they make your brain switch off almost immediately. Even though they are entertaining, they won’t develop your writing ability whatsoever.
Unfortunately, in the modern world, reading has become an unpopular pasttime, but the benefits of real reading are massive and shouldn’t be ignored. Next time you’re writing a paper, a short story, or even just have some free time, take some time to read and read deeply, taking in all the information and really enjoying it.
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