Recently, I had a conversation with my friend regarding the SAT — a standardized test for college-bound high schoolers — and he told me that he could not adequately complete the reading section of the test because of his low attention span. The reading section involves several short passages, followed by questions regarding the author’s intent, vocabulary, inferences, and many other sub-categories of critical thinking questions. So, as you can imagine, comprehending each passage to the best of your ability is of utmost importance. Once my friend informed me of his dilemma, I advised him to start reading books more consistently, explaining that reading will, among other benefits, improve his SAT score the most. He responded with several well-developed, intricately thought-out reasons why reading is not the appropriate solution: “I just can’t,” and “I prefer TikTok,” being some of them. My friend’s objection to reading is not uncommon. One look at high school students will explain why reading is not a common practice: cell phones.

Upon the introduction of books, they were the primary source of information for people, acting as truth-seekers, storytellers, and tutorials. As technology advanced, however, books were dethroned, making way for the internet and social media as the kings of news sourcing. This transformation in how humans acquire knowledge was, evidently, a step in the right direction, because it trumped books in convenience and reliability from a purely information-gathering standpoint, while further broadening the potential of human intelligence. However, what made books great, beyond their easy access to information, was their ability to allow readers to create and develop their version of a story. Movies, unlike books, rely on a single interpretation of a story — a rendition of art that is visualized, understood, and organized by a sole perspective. Books, on the other hand, encourage readers to interpret literature through their unique perspective and to come to their conclusions through thoughtful consideration of an author’s message or an essential question. Because of this, two people of similar cultural backgrounds can discover distinct ideas regarding the same work of literature. Most of these mentally enriching tasks are not performed during viewings of videos and movies. This type of mentation functions for entertainment and quick tutorials — which make up the majority of viewed videos — but is not sufficient for work that requires divergent thinking.

The main concern that short, stimulating videos present regards attention spans. Through humans’ use of social media, engineers have understood the human mind’s proclivity toward vibrant colors and quick edits. While the entertainment industry certainly benefits from these conclusions, they have not helped the average cell phone user. Now, people are flooded with dopaminergic stimuli: entertaining videos and clips that are designed to create addiction. This technological marvel of neuroscience has led to a dramatic decrease in productivity among active social media users, who now find their only source of pleasure through constant scrolling and double-tapping. This problem can lead to an undeveloped mind, one that has a more difficult time finding underlying messages, forming distinct ideas, and creating value of its own.

The internet has robbed people of their attentiveness, and books serve as a reminder that many cannot merely sit and read without obsessively checking their phones every few minutes. This issue may seem inconsequential at first — with many even claiming it isn’t an issue — but its deleterious effects on the human mind cannot be overstated. Books allow us to create new worlds, acquire knowledge about virtually anything, develop our minds, articulate ourselves, and even relax — these are not trivial benefits reserved for the esoteric type: they are essential for our continued happiness and growth.