The Lost Art of Reading for Pleasure: Reclaiming Depth in a Digital World
I don’t want to sound like a grumpy old man, but it’s a fact that humans used to be better readers.1 Back when we didn’t have all these fancy devices like tablets, smartphones, and e-readers. The good old days, when we used to hold real, physical books in our hands and savor the smell of their pages—the musty odor of ink on paper.
Those were the days of in-depth reading, characterized by concentration and focus.2 Meanwhile, in our digital era, we increasingly engage in screen‐based reading behavior, which involves more time spent browsing and scanning, keyword spotting, and non‐linear reading.2 If reading has moved closer to being fast, automatic, and unconscious—or a “System 1” activity, to put it in behavioral science terms—it is to be expected that we’re also not reading for pleasure as often as before.
Instead of simply counting how many books we read each year, I believe we should cultivate our joy of reading once more—and luckily, behavioral science offers valuable insights into how we can achieve just this.
References
- University of Waterloo. (n.d.). How reading habits are changing in the digital age. University of Waterloo Faculty of Arts. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from https://uwaterloo.ca/arts/news/how-reading-habits-are-changing-digital-age
- Liu, Z. (2005). Reading behavior in the digital environment: Changes in reading behavior over the past ten years. Journal of Documentation, 61(6), 700-712. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410510632040
- Pew Research Center. (2021, November 12). Among many U.S. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/12/among-many-u-s-children-reading-for-fun-has-become-less-common-federal-data-shows/
- Sun, Y.-J., Sahakian, B. J., Langley, C., et al. (2024). Early-initiated childhood reading for pleasure: Associations with better cognitive performance, mental well-being and brain structure in young adolescence. Psychological Medicine, 54(2), 359-373. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723001381
- Sun, Y.-J., Sahakian, B. J., Langley, C., et al. (2024). Early-initiated childhood reading for pleasure: Associations with better cognitive performance, mental well-being and brain structure in young adolescence. Psychological Medicine, 54(2), 359-373. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291723001381
- Gaskins, B. (2024). The psychology of reading in the digital era: A new perspective. Journal of Educational Psychology, 24(3), 275-290. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40841-024-00313-x
- Books of the World. (2010, August 12). Books of the world, stand up and be counted! Book Search Blog. https://booksearch.blogspot.com/2010/08/books-of-world-stand-up-and-be-counted.html
- Government of Canada. (2005). Canadian book publishing industry: Profile 2005. Government of Canada. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CH44-61-2005E.pdf
- Djikic, M., Oatley, K., Zoeterman, S., & Peterson, J. B. (2009). On being moved by art: How reading fiction transforms the self. Creativity Research Journal, 21(1), 24-29. 10.1080/10400410802633392
About the Author
Juan Roa Duarte
Juan Roa is a Consultant at TDL. He has a background in philosophy and holds a Master’s in Public Policy from McGill University. Juan is passionate about education, public innovation, and peacebuilding. Specifically, he wants to use behavioural science and policy-making to tackle inequality and improve people’s lives worldwide. Before joining TDL, Juan was a Policy Advisor on Behavioural Change at Bogota’s Department of Transportation and a Senior Design Researcher at Corpovisionarios, a Colombian think-tank that pioneered applying a social norms approach to social change.
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