"Have we lost the art of reading books? The thing so many of us loved to do as children and couldn't fathom not being a part of our lives, has become less and less of a daily ritual. We're spending too much time consuming digital media and on social media instead. And even if we're bored with what we're consuming online, we find it hard to put the phones down."
"While I was lucky enough to have the accessory of childhood (a portable DVD player), a good book was always my go-to for passing the journey. I spent many a trip with my head pressed against the window, using the street lamps as a means of illuminating the pages, until we were inevitably cast into the darkness of a dual carriageway or country road."
Childhood reading in Bray, Co Wicklow provided comfort and passed long car journeys, often using street lamps to illuminate pages during dusk. A portable DVD player was sometimes available, but books remained the primary travel companion. Over time, social media and digital media consumption displaced regular book reading, creating habitual scrolling and difficulty putting phones down even when bored. A deliberate choice to reclaim reading employed incentives and apps to encourage longer-format engagement. Practical incentives, apps, and renewed motivation reduced time on digital platforms, facilitating the restoration of reading as a regular personal ritual.
Read at Independent
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