Reading as a pastime is not more enriching than watching TV or playing video games if all you read is stories. amirite?

Setting video games to one side, I do believe reading is more enriching than tv. I'm a huge fan of tv, and this isn't to disparage the quality of tv, but it's passive. You are, for the most part, just watching something happen. With reading, it's active, you are using your imagination to bring those words to life. Plus there is a direct correlation in education with how much a kid has read and their literary skills and cognitive development.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It depends on how you watch it. Me and my gf love film analysis and we talk to each other about individual creative decisions the director mades, or certain narrative choices, or critique in general, more than we actually watch the thing. Conversely, there are so many terrible books out there that are analogous to bad TV. You have to compare the best of the media.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Which is why I said 'for the most part', there is definitely complex television which requires active participation and analysis. But even those you can watch without engaging, whereas with reading you can't be passive.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Wait does TV improve your spelling?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

If you are a non English speaker and watch movies in English

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Ever seen *The Electric Company* in its original incarnation? It *oozes* phonics, which is a necessary start to spelling. It certainly contributed to good spelling for me.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Well of course there's educational kids programming especially Sesame Street but that's completely different.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

if all you read *are stories

by Anonymous 2 years ago

*is

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I have known many people whose definition of "watching TV" means just having it on in the background and not really focusing. The amount of times that I've had to re-explain plot and stuff to people who weren't paying attention is crazy. I feel like when you are reading there really isn't a way to do so without it being the primary thing you are doing. It forces you to have a more enriching experience by virtue of requiring your full attention.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

A LOT of shows I've tried to show people require really paying attention. A phone get whipped out, and soon enough they're lost.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

People just don't like your shows

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I have a much harder time focusing on reading. I zone out and suddenly I'm 3 paragraphs down.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yeah sometimes people will just talk and do other things without focusing on the movie and they ask questions which is infiuriating

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Let me guess, you're a kid that's been told off for playing too many video games?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Reading and video games > TV

by Anonymous 2 years ago

It, of course, depends on what you are watching. If you are binge binge watching PBS SpaceTime on YouTube you will be a lot smarter than if you binge watch the NCIS factor of mediocre TV.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I believe there is research that supports that reading stories stimulates empathy because it puts you in the shoes of different characters.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The whole idea of "empathy" is a crock. It's a meaningless word.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

False af

by Anonymous 2 years ago

That's not true, reading requires you to learn words in a much easier way then simply memorizing them. You learn them contextually. It also helps you become more empathetic as the character you are reading experiences things as quickly as at your pace. Somehow it can even strengthen your brain, it helps prevent mental decline as you age. TV and video games don't trigger any of this in the brain. Btw, unless you've met people in the 10s of thousands who have read and are worse spellers, you don't have a large enough sample size to go off of.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I'm one of these ppl. I read a lot but spelling is not my Forte.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yeah same, but we are only 2 people, I bet you've a nice vocabulary though.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Eh it's ok. I got a bit of a speech issue some things I have a hard time pronouncing. So I may know words that I learned from reading but I can't always say those words correctly.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

That doesn't sound like a knowledge issue just a speech issue. Do you think much faster then you can express to the point it's frustrating?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I didn't say it was a knowledge issue?? And yea sometimes I can. Pretty sure I got adhd or something.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I know you didn't, I was just thinking in text. I actually asked because from what you described, it reminded me of having ADHD. As someone who went 2 decades denying it, I recommend you get a diagnosis, it will make life easier.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yea that's the plan. I think I might also be on the spectrum so I'm hoping I can get a diagnosis. But I definitely know my brain doesn't work like most ppl lol.

by Anonymous 2 years ago