persuasive essay reading books is better than watching tv

Opinion | Reading books vs. watching TV — is one…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Clarence Page

Opinion | Reading books vs. watching TV — is one really better for us?

Idiots like me. I’m going to Scotland this year, and three different people told me I must watch “Outlander” before I go. I don’t have STARZ, so I ordered old-fashioned DVDs from Netflix. “Outlander” is like “Game of Thrones” for fans of romance novels: a little magick (with a “k”), a lot of sex, some tasteful 18th-century violence and handsome men in kilts. I watched the first four hourlong episodes back to back.

When I stood up from the couch I felt sick, and it wasn’t just the cookies, popcorn and peanut butter crackers I’d scarfed down without noticing. My brain was fuzzy, but worse, I felt furtive and ashamed. I looked outside surprised to see the sun had set. My house was dark around me except for the blue glow of the TV screen. I had spent half a day on the couch. Research for Scotland? Not exactly.

A few days later I had a library book due: The National Book Award winner “The Friend,” by Sigrid Nunez, about a woman mourning the death of her best friend who then inherits his enormous Great Dane. It was wonderful and I loved it, but I needed to finish it, so I read the last half straight through. I was immersed in Nunez’s New York City, worrying about the grieving dog and the narrator’s pending eviction because of it, as well as her career and her future. I finished the book with tears in my eyes and stood up feeling, well, great.

I had wasted another four hours on my couch. I hadn’t eaten as much junk food because I needed my hands free — and not sticky — so I could turn pages and return the book to the library relatively clean, but I hadn’t moved and once again it was dark outside.

Why did I feel so much better and guilt-free? I would have proudly told someone I spent the entire day reading, but when my sister called and asked if I’d watched “Outlander” yet, I hedged, too embarrassed to admit I was sucked into the vortex of the MacKenzie/Fraser clans.

Full disclosure: My husband produces television shows, but I think of myself as a TV snob. We don’t have one in the bedroom. My children never had their own TVs. I limited their viewing.

I told my kids TV would rot their brains, and there are plenty of studies to back that up. In 2013, Hikaru Takeuchi, at Tohoku University in Japan, found that the more TV a child watched, the lower her verbal reasoning and the higher her levels of arousal and aggression. The child’s frontal lobe actually thickened.

But recently another investigation by criminologists Joseph Schwartz, of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Kevin Beaver, of Florida State University, concluded that genetics has the greatest effect on how children react to TV. A kid with aggressive tendencies might prefer watching television to being with other children. Same with a child with a tendency for depression.

And in 2015, a study at the University of Maryland found that kids who watched “Sesame Street” as preschoolers were better prepared to learn when they entered kindergarten. Of course, that study didn’t look at what happened if a child binge-watched four straight hours of Bert and Ernie and Big Bird.

All the research says reading a book is good for you. Better even than listening to an audiobook or reading one on an e-reader. It reduces stress, promotes comprehension and imagination, alleviates depression, helps you sleep and may contribute to preventing Alzheimer’s.

Reading is active; watching TV is passive. The act of physically turning a page creates a momentary pause for understanding to sink in. Our brains have to work to translate the black squiggles on the page into words and then interpret the meaning and intent of those words. When a character is described as tall with brown hair, a reader creates her own picture. TV takes all that imagination away.

And yet sometimes it’s great to just sit on the couch and surrender. Let someone else do the work. Since my kids have left home, I watch more TV, and I look forward to it.

TV is egalitarian. Even if we aren’t all watching the same three networks anymore, we are all connected via video. Who didn’t catch at least some of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings or Bishop Curry’s homily at the Markle-Windsor royal wedding? At work or a party, it’s easier to share the latest plot twist in “The Americans” than to talk about how you’re finally getting around to reading “Middlemarch.” It’s more fun to discuss the baked-Alaska controversy on “The Great British Bake Off” than whether “Less” by Andrew Sean Greer deserved the Pulitzer Prize.

Many people tell me they just don’t read anymore, and that breaks my heart, but there’s a lot of good TV now, Golden Age-type TV. I’d like to say the answer to TV versus books must be, as Aristotle said, “Moderation in all things,” though he never had a television or a computer and had to read his papyrus scrolls by candlelight.

I believe too much television is bad for you. I know I feel better if I binge-read, but it won’t stop me from watching too. I’m willing to risk thickening my frontal cortex. Therefore my resolution: When I watch, just as when I read, I’m going to banish feeling furtive and guilty. And take an extra walk.

My second DVD of “Outlander” has just arrived, and as soon as I get this essay done, the rest of my day is free.

Tribune Content Agency

Diana Wagman is a contributor to the Los Angeles Times’ Opinion section.

More in Opinion

Opinion | Allan Ripp: Despite wanderlust, I never seem to go anywhere. Do travel posters count?

Editorials | Editorial: Don Harmon rescues Brandon Johnson on the future of Chicago Public Schools. But at what price?

Opinion | Tribune Opinion’s quotes of the week

Letters to the Editor | Letters: Return of the Dust Bowl? Dust storms in Illinois are a harbinger of things to come.

Trending nationally.

• Baltimore D-Day veteran, 104, returns to Normandy, perhaps for the last time
• One nation, under watch: New brand of largely unregulated mass surveillance is expanding in Virginia
• Florida priest bites woman who grabbed Holy Communion wafers
• California city pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession
• McDonald’s getting rid of soda machines, free refills

Reading vs Watching TV. The Debate Is Finally Settled

The “reading vs watching TV” battle has been going on ever since the invention of television programs. While the enthusiasm of being entertained without putting in any effort of their own has won over the hearts of millions, if not billions of people over the years, the debate on the benefits of books vs TV seems to have been settled long ago. Despite that, the general trend doesn’t seem to favor reading. 

Why is that and how can you avoid wasting your time watching TV and reaping the benefits of being a reader instead? Keep reading and all your questions will be answered.

Is reading better than watching TV?

The short answer? Yes. Reading is a whole lot better than watching TV in more ways than you can imagine. Even from an early age, the use of screens brings massive disadvantages when compared to time spent reading . Not only because reading is an incredibly useful learning tool, while the TV has a mainly entertainment purpose, but also because of the effect both have on our brains. 

Reading has a positive effect on our mental health, while watching TV has the exact opposite effect. Reading can reduce stress , lower our blood pressure, our heart rate and muscle tension. 

On top of the knowledge boost reading provides us with, it also has a healing effect on our mental state. Especially if we approach reading with mindfulness, there is a lot for us to gain if we spend more time reading and less time watching TV. Reading allows us to live less stressful, wiser and more empathetic lives. 

Using Basmo , a reading tracking app for the modern reader, can help you gain a much more mindful approach to this incredibly beneficial activity. Use Basmo to take notes, keep a reading journal, schedule your reading sessions and even to create, save and share your favorite quotes. Basmo is a great way to enhance any of the countless benefits of reading. 

Ready for the world’s first AI Chatbot for books? Start a chat with any book!

Get Basmo to experience the power of ChatGPT!

Why is reading better than watching TV?

Now that we have established that reading is a much healthier, useful and rewarding activity than watching TV, let’s have a look at a couple of important aspects that differentiate the two and some of the most relevant benefits of reading vs watching TV.

Reading benefits

First, let’s explore some of the most important benefits that those of us who have the habit of reading can enjoy.

• Reading improves general knowledge : there is no better way of acquiring information on pretty much any subject than through reading. 
• Reading makes us better people : by helping us relax, by making us wiser and better informed, by improving our ability to empathize with others and by teaching us countless life lessons, reading makes us better people in countless aspects.
• Reading helps us live longer and healthier lives : the benefits of reading books go well beyond our mental health. Reading can lower your blood pressure, slow your heart rate, delay the onset of age related cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia and can even extend our life expectancy. 
• Reading is like cardio for your brain: even though anatomically they have almost nothing in common, your brain and your muscles share a couple of similarities to a certain extent. More precisely, your brain will function a lot better the more you exercise it, just like your muscles. Reading is a great exercise for your brain and people who read constantly not only have better learning performance, they also have a much healthier brain, which allows them to have a young and sharp mind even in old age.

If you are interested, we have an extensive article prepared for you where you can learn more about the benefits of reading !

List of disadvantages of watching TV

While the TV vs books debate has a clear winner in everyone’s eyes, it is still worth having a quick look at the drawbacks of choosing to watch TV instead of reading. 

Just to be clear, we know that completely swearing off television is not really an option these days. What’s important for you is to manage to find a balance between the time you spend watching TV and the time you spend reading, while being aware of the effects of both. 

Just like in a chocolate vs fruit debate, everyone knows which one is better, but very few people manage to completely stick to the healthy choice and no nutritionist will ever expect their patients to completely stop eating chocolate. As long as you make the right choice more times than you make the wrong one, you will be a lot better off.

Here is what you should know about watching TV the next time your hand is on the remote.

The TV is a time-wasting machine

Did you ever find yourself sitting in front of your TV planning to watch it for a little while only realize after a while that 2 hours went by? We’ve all been through that. 

The thing about television programs is that they rely on keeping you engaged for as long as possible. Commercial breaks always happen when things get interesting in the show you’re watching because they know you won’t turn off the TV in the middle of a suspenseful movie for example. 

Decades have been spent on developing strategies for engaging watchers for extended periods of time and that’s because the longer you watch, the more the television earns. This can be extremely toxic for you as you are very likely to waste a great portion of your free time watching pointless TV programs .  

TV exposes you to violence, disturbing news and sexually explicit content. 

Even if you’re an adult and you may not realize it, constantly allowing yourself to get exposed to toxic content will have an effect on your mental state. Depression, anxiety and other similar conditions are partly rooted in the type of content we consume . 

Also, if there is a child in your household as well, they will unwillingly be exposed to certain images that may not be appropriate for their age. Even if you’re just watching the news, certain things will not be a great idea for your child to see or hear. 

TV makes you lazy

And not just because most of your TV watching will happen with you sitting or laying on a couch (the term couch potato is no coincidence, as studies have found a relation between watching countless hours of TV and obesity), but also because it doesn’t stimulate you in any way. It leaves nothing for you to imagine, there’s very little thought involved in watching any type of TV program. 

TV will teach your brain that entertainment is an effortless activity, where you are overstimulated by flashing imagery, enticing sound effects, violence and nudity.

TV is not your friend 

For some viewers, watching television becomes a full time activity, which slowly replaces their relationships with friends and family. Not only that, but one study has found that for certain people who are too invested in TV shows, losing a loved one and losing a fictitious character from a show generate quite similar emotions. On top of this warped emotional behavior, TV also changes viewer’s vision about certain things: body shape, a predisposition to consumerism, and enforces racial and sexual stereotypes that are far from the reality we live in. 

As you can see, there are a lot of drawbacks to watching TV. Despite that, we don’t necessarily encourage you to completely stop. You just need to be aware of the consequences of over-exposing yourself to TV content and take the necessary measures in order to make better use of your free time.

How do Books and Television Affect Your Brain?

Well, to put it very shortly, they affect your brain in completely different ways. The brain activity while reading vs watching TV has been studied in the past. The conclusions were quite blunt: especially for children, TV had a toxic effect on arousal and aggression levels and delayed mental development compared to the levels of children who read. 

While reading increases brain connectivity and strengthens the neuronal connections of readers at any age and level, TV has the exact opposite effect.

Here’s a couple of other ways your mental state and your brain are affected differently by books and TV.

Reading has a calming effect, while TV overstimulates you

As I mentioned before, reading is a great way to relax after a hard day of work. You can escape your day to day life and allow yourself to be engulfed in the adventures presented by the author in a safe and healthy way, while your blood pressure drops, your stress level is reduced and you feed your mind and soul. 

TV often has the exact opposite effect. Watching the news will leave you worried. Watching an action movie will probably leave you wishing you hadn’t seen that much violence or nudity. Comedies are unrealistic, romantic shows seed stereotypes and false expectations. All this while blue light invades your eyes and nerves, flashing images set your brain on high alert and the advertisements push you one step closer to toxic consumerism.

Books are great sources of information, while the TV is often used to misinform

There’s not  much you can think of that hasn’t already been studied and explored in a book. Books are amazing sources of knowledge and information, regardless of the area you are interested in.

Some TV programs like documentaries can be pretty useful too. Make sure to always double check the information you get from TV though. In the past years, misinformation has been a key element for the informational war we are all going through. Never get your news for example from the same TV station every day. 

Books provide quality content, while TV programs don’t stimulate you

The great thing about books is that they don’t provide you with any imagery whatsoever for the most part, leaving your mind to fill in the blanks. You can imagine what characters look like according to the author’s description, visualize the action, the places they see. Your mind is constantly at work to fill in all these blanks while reading and that is a very good thing for you and your brain.

TV programs leave no blanks to be filled. You have all the information right there on the screen, you hear the sounds, the music, the voices. You see the action, sometimes even more of it than you would like, leaving you wishing you hadn’t seen all that blood. Your brain does nothing else than to process all this information that is blasted towards it. Your imagination is at a complete halt and stays that way until you stop watching TV. And as we already know, most people spend at least a couple of hours every day watching TV.

Reading vs TV before bed

If you’re ever wondering whether you should read or watch TV before bed, there’s no way around it: you should choose the book. Reading relaxes you, helps you fall asleep quicker and sleep better. 

TV on the other hand will shine blue light at your eyes and into your brain, which will agitate you and will delay the secretion of melatonin in your brain. In other words, you will sleep less and worse. 

How to watch less TV? Create a reading habit

We have to admit, watching TV does come with a couple of benefits books cannot provide, such as presenting valuable real-time information. It can also be a family bonding experience, you could have an interesting, visual learning experience through documentaries and it can be a rather satisfying pass-time activity.

We also know that the temptation to watch mindless TV shows is sometimes too much to handle and you will give in. That’s ok. But know that if you want to start watching less TV and start reading more , there are ways you can go about doing it. And it’s actually a bit easier than you might expect, thanks to Basmo .

Basmo is a reading tracking app which was designed with the modern reader in mind. We know how hard it is to fight off distractions and temptations. And that is why our app is fully packed with features that come to your aid.

First and foremost, if you want to read more, you need to set yourself a realistic goal . Basmo can help: it allows you to set daily or yearly reading goals for how much time you spend reading every day or how many books you go through in a year. 

Once you know your goal, it’s time to set your motivation straight. To do that, find the one reading benefit that speaks to you the most. Do you want to be smarter? More empathetic? More relaxed. Take your pick and set that as your ultimate motivation to stick to your goals.

Then, it’s time to set your schedule. Yes, you will need a reading schedule and Basmo is there to help as well. Just in a couple of taps, the app allows you to personalize your schedule as you see fit, you choose how many days per week you want to read in, what time of day and the app saves your choices and even sets alarms for you so you get a reminder before any upcoming reading sessions.

But that’s not all. Basmo will also allow you to:

• Take notes while reading
• Keep a reading journal
• Create personalized reading lists
• Save quotes

While the reading vs watching TV debate has a clear winner, keeping up with the promises you make yourself is going to be tough. Basmo will be there to support you all along the way.

Give Your Reading Experience An Extra Boost With Basmo

Track the books you read, monitor the time you spend reading and keep notes on your reading habits and how it makes you feel. You can set yourself targets for the time you spend reading and you can get notified whenever you’re behind on your reading time. 

Woman reading vector created by pch.vector – www.freepik.com

Related Posts

How to Develop a Reading Habit and Why Should You?

The Best Reading Journal Ideas You Should Know Today

28 Benefits of Reading Books You Should Be Aware Of

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

The only AI chatbot for books in the world!

Instantly learn anything from any book with ChatGPT

• advertise with us
• reading charities
• Benefits Of Reading Aloud
• Effective Reading Strategies
• Reading Comprehension
• Speed Reading Techniques
• Why Reading Is Good For You
• Ultimate Amazon Kindle Review 2024: Find Your Perfect E-Reader
• 2024’s Top Picks: Kindle Unlimited vs. The Rest
• Academic & Education
• Autobiography, Biography & Memoir
• Best Selling
• Business & Finance
• Diet & Weight Loss
• Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic
• Entrepreneur
• Health & Fitness Books
• Human Anatomy & Medicine
• Humor & Funny
• Parenting & Child Development
• Politics & Social Science
• Religion & Spirituality
• Science & Math
• Science Fiction
• Thriller & Suspense
• War & Military
• Young Adult

Select Page

Why Picking Up a Book Beats Turning on the TV: 10 Compelling Reasons

Posted by Why Read | Apr 13, 2024 | Self-Help Books

We have long believed in the benefits of reading over watching TV. Yet for many people, watching TV is their go-to activity for relaxation and entertainment, leaving little time to read books.

In an era where screens dominate our attention, the debate between why reading is better than watching TV takes on new significance. While many default to television for its ease of entertainment, we advocate for the unmatched benefits of delving into a good book. Reading not only enriches our vocabulary but also enhances our capacity for empathy, focus, and imagination.

Through this exploration of reading vs watching, we aim to unveil the profound advantages of choosing books over TV, presenting a compelling case for why books are better than TV as a choice for both relaxation and personal growth.

To help you understand the why reading has more benefit than watching tv, we will step through our   10 benefits of reading   and compare them to TV.

1. Develop Verbal Abilities

Even though TV is mostly dialogue, books are better than television at increasing your vocabulary. So why is reading better for your vocabulary?  TV typically uses short and simple sentences, pitched at a fourth grade level.

Good children’s books however, typically contain language twice as complex as a tv show. This means using a greater range of vocabulary, longer sentences and more complex sentences. Adult novels and especially newspapers can step up the benefits again, with even richer and more varied language.

A   paper on What Reading Does for the Mind   stated that reading volume contributed directly to vocabulary knowledge in fourth to sixth-grade children.  Author Anne Cunningahm of Berkeley concludes that reading can build verbal (and other) abilities in children regardless of academic achievement levels.

Better verbal abilities also translate to better writing skills which is important in many jobs. Understanding the impact of books on our language skills unveils why reading is indeed better than watching TV.

2. Develop Focus And Concentration

This benefit of reading is one that TV actually damages.  TV actively develops short concentration habits leading to poor focus.  TV shows are made up of short ‘scenes’ between advertisement breaks.  Most scenes in shows are fast paced, high action, with constantly changing camera angles.  We call this the “Sesame Street syndrome” as that show changes more frequently than average.

Rapid changes are designed to stop people hitting the remote button and switching stations. So watchers of television tend to develop a short attention span or lack of focus. If you also multitask when watching TV your lack of focus gets even worse.  You probably multitask because you are not fully engaged in the experience and not using mental muscles.

Books, on the other hand, develop focus and concentration skills as they engage and hold the reader’s attention. This is an exercise for our focus and thinking muscles.   We don’t usually take a break from reading every few minutes.  In fact, we rarely do other things at the same time as reading.  Sometimes we are so focused on our reading we are barely aware of the world around us at all.  Sound familiar? Another compelling reason why books are better than TV is their ability to develop focus and concentration .

3. Readers Enjoy The Arts

Studies have shown that readers tend to enjoy concerts, plays and museums more than non-readers. We haven’t found any studies on this compared to TV watchers, but again, the skills of concentration and focus are needed to enjoy the Arts.  Skills watching TV do not seem to help.

4. Improve Your Imagination

A Los Angeles County study showed children produced less imaginative responses after watching a film, compared to listening to a story.  When we read (or just listen) we have to create a vision of everything in our mind.  We use our imagination to craft the world and events described in the book.  This exercise stimulates many functions of the brain.

In comparison, a TV show provides the full visual image for us and eliminates any background information or musings by the characters.  We turn off our imagination and receive the story as imagined by the director.

This is one reason we never think the   movie is as good as the book.   We imagined it differently to the director so it doesn’t match our experience.  Who hasn’t seen the outcries then the cast of the latest book to movie project is announced. Each reader has their own vision and the selection of a particular actor can polarize the book community who see it quite differently.

Enhancing your imagination through reading is a journey of endless discovery. Titles such as ‘ Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon ‘ will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more fulfilling creative life.  Exploring such books not only fuels your creativity but also provides a gateway to new ideas and perspectives.

5. Watching TV Can Lower Your IQ

Some television programs do provide great educational input. We love National Geographic as much as the next person.  But more often a tv show requires little to no input or thinking by the viewer.  We admit it, this is one of the attractions of television on occasion.

Trouble is, a    Japanese study   in 2013 found watching tv actually lowered the IQ of children. In contrast, a recent study by   Emory University   found reading novels created heightened connectivity in the brain for up to five days after reading.  Connectivity in the brain translates to getting smarter over time.  So reading can make you smarter.

6. Be Interesting And Attractive

Reading is not generally seen as a social activity.  Yet reading can have great impact on how we react in social situations.  Reading develops better verbal and empathy skills (see below).  Better empathy, verbal skills, and knowledge makes readers more interesting and attractive people.

Watching TV is a basically antisocial experience. Especially for young children compared to being   read a story by a parent   or grandparent.  Reading aloud together is an interactive process especially important for the development of young children.

Then for straight-out social events, there are book clubs.  Social events just to discuss books.  We can’t imagine a “[fill in your favorite show] TV club” to discuss the latest episode. Can you?

7. Reading Is Best At Reducing Stress

Reading has been shown to   reduce stress in just six minutes!   Research shows reading works faster and better than listening to music, drinking coffee or even taking a walk. TV might feel like it relaxes your body, but another study showed television can amplify stress   because we frequently feel guilty or like a failure afterwards.

To continuously discover reading materials that relax and inspire, consider subscribing to a book subscription service. These curated experiences deliver hand-picked books right to your door, ensuring you always have something fresh and exciting to read. It’s a wonderful way to expand your horizons and find new favorites that you might not have picked up otherwise.

8. Effects On Memory: Reading Vs Television

Readers have to remember the plot line and any subplots; what the hero or heroine looked like; who they’ve met and many other details to make the story coherent and enjoyable. Reading a book series can increase that mental exercise.

In comparison, TV eliminates much of the extra inputs and provides a visual feed instead. The typically simple plots limit the variables a watcher needs to remember.

After all, you can only fit a limited story into  a 30-50 minute ‘episode’.  And TV shows typically provide a recap after every break. So TV shows tend to contain very surface level characters & ideas.  They rarely involve complex situations or ideas as there just isn’t time. Even longer formats such as movies typically have to leave out large chunks of plots or even whole characters (does anyone else miss Peeves in the Harry Potter movies).

Active mental stimulation like reading slows down the rate of memory loss a  2012 study  has shown. And   Alzheimers is 2.5 times less common   in elderly people who read regularly.

9. Self Discovery: Love And Empathy

Research is showing that the excessive violence on TV through news, or just television shows is overpowering both children and adults.  This bombardment desensitizes our ability to feel sympathy or empathy with those suffering.  Reduced empathy has been shown to significantly contribute to aggressive behavior.

When we read, we can identify with characters and their thoughts – we can be the hero who solves the mystery, the kick-ass vampire heroine who finds herself, and a million other characters. Reading allows us to experience emotions in a safe environment, without ongoing obligations. This has been shown to develop our empathy and understanding.

At a higher level, reading requires us to attribute the mental state of a character to that character – called Theory of Mind. Sometimes described as ‘putting yourself in another’s shoes’.  We rarely get insight into character’s thoughts in TV.  Emotions have to be kept simple and acted out clearly for watchers to follow.

10. TV Is Entertaining Too

Perhaps this benefit of reading is shared with watching TV.  We can laugh and cry with a good book or a good movie.

We are not saying don’t watch television if you want some entertainment.  Just remember, many benefits of reading are already proven by science. Reading benefits our brains.  And unfortunately, the research suggests that tv watching has few if any benefits, and is not so good for us in general.  So keep reading as well.

Clear Benefits Of Reading Versus Watching TV

As we conclude our journey through the compelling reasons why reading is better than watching TV, it’s clear that the act of reading offers unparalleled benefits for our minds and souls. From fostering imagination and improving focus to enhancing empathy and verbal skills, the advantages of reading are as diverse as they are significant. This exploration reaffirms why books are better than TV, not as a dismissal of television’s entertainment value, but as a celebration of reading’s profound impact on our lives.

In embracing books, we choose a path of active engagement and self-discovery, enriching our lives beyond the passive consumption of screen-based entertainment. Let’s cherish and prioritize the timeless joy of reading, furthering our understanding of reading vs watching and embracing the endless benefits that books bring into our lives.

Reading is an exercise for the brain. Like exercise develops the body, reading develops the brain in many different ways. As the saying goes, if you don’t use it you lose it. So   reading is important   and the benefits of reading over watching TV are proven.

Book Recommendations:

The shallows.

What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr – Explore the impact of technology on our cognitive abilities and discover the importance of reclaiming our attention.

The Reading Mind

A Cognitive Approach to Understanding How the Mind Reads” by Daniel T. Willingham – Dive into the fascinating world of cognitive science and uncover the secrets of how our minds process written language.

Digital Minimalism

Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World” by Cal Newport – Learn practical strategies for decluttering your digital life and reclaiming your time and attention in an age of constant connectivity.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor

A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines” by Thomas C. Foster – Unlock the secrets of literary analysis and deepen your appreciation for the art of reading with this insightful guide.

Reader, Come Home

The Reading Brain in a Digital World” by Maryanne Wolf – This book delves into the neuroscience behind how digital media is affecting our reading abilities and proposes ways to cultivate a new generation of readers in the digital age.

Words Onscreen

The Fate of Reading in a Digital World” by Naomi S. Baron – Baron examines how digital mediums have affected reading practices and preferences, and what this means for the future of books and deep reading.

How to Read and Why

In “How to Read and Why,” Harold Bloom presents a passionate argument for the importance of reading deeply as a means of personal and intellectual fulfillment. Bloom guides readers through key works of literature—spanning novels, plays, poems, and short stories—and explains how to engage with these texts critically and thoughtfully. He illuminates the wisdom and joy that can be gained from connecting with great literary minds.

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Popular Posts

• Academic & Education Books
• Autobiography, Biography & Memoir Books
• Best Selling Books
• Business & Finance Books
• Childrens Books
• Classic Books
• Cooking Books
• Diet & Weight Loss Books
• Dystopian & Post-Apocalyptic Books
• Ebook Readers
• Entrepreneur Books
• Fantasy Books
• Graphic Novels
• History Books
• Horror Books
• Humor & Funny Books
• Philosophy Books
• Politics & Social Science Books
• Psychology Books
• Reading Tips
• Religion & Spirituality Books
• Romance Books
• Science & Math Books
• Science Fiction Books
• Self-Help Books
• Sports Books
• Thriller & Suspense Books
• Travel Books
• True Crime Books
• Uncategorized
• Vampire Books
• War & Military Books
• Young Adult Books
• Zombie Books

Most Popular

11 days ago

Inspiration vs Plagiarism

How to write a synthesis essay.

12 days ago

How To Write a 5 Paragraph Essay

How to cite a bill, openai prepares to launch web search feature for chatgpt, rivaling google and perplexity, the importance of reading books for people – free persuasive essay sample.

Books expand our knowledge and conception of the world around us (Jiken, Solidarity for Books). One may argue that films and TV documentaries do that too, but I believe that books are a much better alternative, since they allow each reader to experience the same story using one’s own imagination. When a hundred people watch a film or a TV show, they see the same content—whatever the director and the producer wish to show. Books are different. The experience achieved through reading is richer and more personal, since the same description and the same word choice will result in as many different interpretations as there are readers. We are all unique, and books allow us to experience whatever is narrated in the light of our own personal values, through our ideas and our imagination.

In addition, books enrich our vocabulary, introduce us to new notions, and offer a wider choice of words to us. With every book we read, we become more intelligent (Singh, The Braininess of Books). Even reading one seemingly more primitive pulp fiction book per month can enrich one’s personal vocabulary with dozens of new words, help us build more concise sentences on our own, and express oneself better, make one’s speech more intelligent and sophisticated. Watching certain TV programs and documentary films can also widen one’s vocabulary, but hardly as effectively as books do, since reading operates with both more sophisticated visual and audio (if reading aloud) receptors. Moreover, our imagination reproduces mental pictures of what we are reading about, so a new word automatically links to a certain image and a particular feeling that it relates to. Therefore, reading books is a wonderful tool when it comes to learning and developing one’s vocabulary at any age.

Books are a fantastic source of inspiration. Unlike fine art, architecture, or travelling, books help us create our own mental illustration for what we read on paper. In a way, books make us all artists and creators of our own mental cartoons, movies, or illustration collections (Curtis, Book Artists). Every image we create ourselves is automatically allotted a certain emotion, whether a simple or a more complicated one. Every mental image that a written word projects is vibrant with feelings and emotions. This is what makes books powerful and memorable. Books are an endless source of inspiration and motivation to become a better person.

I am certain that creating a system of symbols and eventually an alphabet, words, and books was the greatest series of inventions of humankind. The books I am talking about are classics, those that do not have an expiration date and will be priceless for any generation. They will continue sparking new ideas, inspiring new deeds, and enriching the lives of every generation to come. I am positive that books will eventually regain their popularity with today’s youth, since unlike the popular kinds of entertainment in fashion today, books are those roots to which people will go back, in search of the motivation, inspiration, and aspiration to find the true meaning and value of life.

1. Siam, Nyugen. Book Stats: Why We Should Care (2006). Wisconsin Daily Press.

2. Jiken, Howard. Solidarity for Books (2010). Lazy Bird Publishing.

3. Singh, Jaghan. The Braininess of Books (2011). Sharala Publishing.

4. Curtis, Brain. Book Artists (2012). Ant Hill Press.

Follow us on Reddit for more insights and updates.

Comments (0)

Welcome to A*Help comments!

We’re all about debate and discussion at A*Help.

We value the diverse opinions of users, so you may find points of view that you don’t agree with. And that’s cool. However, there are certain things we’re not OK with: attempts to manipulate our data in any way, for example, or the posting of discriminative, offensive, hateful, or disparaging material.

Comments are closed.

More from Best Persuasive Essay Examples

May 28 2023

How does outdoor exercises impact our health and well-being? Essay Sample, Example

Should Screen Time Be Limited? Essay Sample, Example

Why Video Games are Good for the Brain. Essay Sample, Example

Remember Me

What is your profession ? Student Teacher Writer Other

Forgotten Password?

Username or Email

Welcome Guest!

• IELTS Listening
• IELTS Reading
• IELTS Writing
• IELTS Writing Task 1
• IELTS Writing Task 2
• IELTS Speaking
• IELTS Speaking Part 1
• IELTS Speaking Part 2
• IELTS Speaking Part 3
• IELTS Practice Tests
• IELTS Listening Practice Tests
• IELTS Reading Practice Tests
• IELTS Writing Practice Tests
• IELTS Speaking Practice Tests
• All Courses
• IELTS Online Classes
• OET Online Classes
• PTE Online Classes
• CELPIP Online Classes
• Free Live Classes
• Australia PR
• Germany Job Seeker Visa
• Austria Job Seeker Visa
• Sweden Job Seeker Visa
• Study Abroad
• Student Testimonials
• Our Trainers
• IELTS Webinar
• Immigration Webinar

Reading stories from a book is better than watching TV Sample Essay

Updated On Jan 05, 2024

Share on Whatsapp

Share on Email

Share on Linkedin

Predicted Cue Cards Topics 2024

This article contains Reading stories from a book is better than watching TV sample essays.

Given below is a real IELTS Writing Part 2 Essay question. We have provided sample essays as well as an essay outline so that you can practice writing your own!

Not sure how to approach IELTS Essay questions? Take a look at IELTS Writing Task 2 Preparation Tips and Tricks !

Learn how to write the perfect IELTS Agree/Disagree essay for Band 9 score with the guide below!

Read the sample essay for Some people believe that people who read books can develop more imagination and language skills than those who prefer to watch TV. Do you agree or disagree?

Some people believe that reading stories from a book is better than watching TV or playing computer games for children. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Get Evaluated for FREE:

Do you have an essay on this topic? Please post it in the comments section. One of our IELTS trainers will evaluate your essay from an examiner’s point of view and reply to the comment. This service is completely FREE of cost.

Sample Answer

While it has been said that reading books for pleasure rather than watching TV is more beneficial for one’s imagination and acquiring language skills, I contend that the role of the former in boosting intelligence and language ability is equal to the latter.

One the one hand, books are instrumental in enhancing children’s imagination and development. A kid reading a fairly tale with illustration will have to think, fantasize and use their creativeness to comprehend ideas and reasoning, which in turn sharpen their mental skills . Moreover, reading books helps to improve language skills. Spending time reading a book which is not written in our mother tongue leads to the development of a strong language base referring to its vocabulary, or comprehending meaning of a word in different contexts. Besides, reading out a book for children is also an effective way to help them improve their communication skill , which is greatly stimulated as the kids grab a spoken word and use it in daily conversations.

On the other hand, watching TV is considered an important activity as reading in order to cultivate one’s imaginativeness regarding its characteristics of programs. Firstly, when audiences watch a tourism channel for example, they are exposed to a wide range of knowledge by seizing images of worldwide landscapes or feel tastes of specialties in various geographical region s. The broadcasting of quiz shows serves as an efficient learning tool for both children and adults who prefer taking challenges which involve critical thinking . Secondly, the role of TV in boosting linguistic competence is pivotal . Recent English programs not only support audience to remember words easily by associating them with vivid images shown on the screen but catch their constant attention with entertaining aspects.

In conclusion, while the benefits of reading are undeniable, they cannot outweigh the role of TV in enhancing a person’s imaginativeness and language skills.

• The former (phrase): denoting the first or first mentioned of two people or things.
• The latter (phrase): denoting the second or second mentioned of two people or things.
• Instrumental (adj): very important in helping or causing something to happen or be done
• Fairly tale (phrase): a simple children’s story about magical creatures
• Fanticise (verb): to imagine that something pleasant, exciting, or unusual is happening to you
• Critical thinking (phrase): the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.
• Linguistic competence (phrase):  the system of linguistic knowledge of a language
• Pivotal (adj): very important

More Writing Task 2 Essay Topics

• Some People Say That Economic Growth Is The Only Way to End Hunger and Poverty
• Scientific Research Should Be Carried Out and Controlled by the Government
• The Tradition of Families Getting Together to Eat Meals is Disappearing
• Is Freedom of Speech Necessary In a Free Society
• In Today’s World of Advanced Science and Technology

Also check :

• Tips to write introduction in IELTS Writing Task 2
• Tips to write great writing essay
• IELTS Sample essays
• IELTS Writing task 2 Preparation Tips
• IELTS Writing tips
• How to get band 8 in IELTS Writing Task 2
• IELTS Writing recent actual test
• IELTS Band 9 essays
• Advantage and Disadvantage Essays
• IELTS Writing Answer sheet
• IELTS map vocabulary
• IELTS Writing Task 1 Connectors

Practice IELTS Writing Task 2 based on Essay types

Effective IELTS Essay Connectors for Writing Task 2 & Task 1

Courtney Miller

Courtney is one of our star content writers as she plays multiple roles. She is a phenomenal researcher and provides extensive articles to students. She is also an IELTS Trainer and an extremely good content writer. Courtney completed her English Masters at Kings College London, and has been a part of our team for more than 3 years. She has worked with the British Council and knows the tricks and tips of IELTS.

Explore other Opinion Essays

Nehasri Ravishenbagam

Janice Thompson

Whitney Houston

Post your Comments

diksha nimje

Posted on Mar 25, 2022

A certain number of individuals conceive that reading books is more effective than watching television in improving imagination and language skills. I completely agree with the statement. In this essay, I will discuss reasons in support of my view. To begin with, when people read, they get direct and excessive access to how words are structured, therefore, gradually improving their language. They can learn the varieties of new words and collocations skillfully used by writers in a different context. Moreover, the language used by writers in books is more precise and formal than the spoken language shown on TV. By interacting with them many times through reading, readers will naturally absorb the words, acquiring a better understanding of how words are used in many ways and expanding vocabularies. They can always get back to it for reference as well. To cite an example, lately, I used to watch shows on TV. However, after reading novels for IELTS preparation, I was surprised by the progress I made in two weeks during the process. Furthermore, reading books, especially fictional ones, stimulates readers’ imagination effectively. A books’ content has no boundaries and a unique ability to take people to different worlds, even the impracticable ones. Thus, readers’ minds can think out of the box as there is no such thing as impossible or irrational in books that eventually enhances their imaginative abilities and even creativity. For example, while reading a fantasy novel having mythical creatures, some readers can imagine themselves in the characters while others can imagine something different. In conclusion, I believe people who love to read tend to have a more active imagination and advanced linguistic comprehension than those who watch television, since readers are required to imagine the story in the book and learn new words and their use from the context.

Posted on Mar 28, 2022

Band Score: 6

Since it is an opinion essay, you are required write about one line of contrast in a separate body after presenting two body paragraphs supporting your views.

Use C2 level of words.

Posted on Jul 3, 2017

Hello Team members, i pickup some of your ideas and put it in the essay in my own format. i’m really thankful to you if you check it. thanks 20. Some people believe that people who read books can develop more imagination and language skills than those who prefer to watch TV. Do you agree or disagree?

While some people think that reading books rather than watching television is more beneficial for one’s imagination and language acquisition. I partly agree with their views because the TV also play a similar role like a book.

On the one hand, there are various reasons why people support reading books for enhancing imagination. This is to say that, when any person read a book with many illustrations, then they can easily imagine the same situation in their mind, and think about what happen when they have the same case. For example, when a child read a fairy tale, then by using creativeness and imagination they build the world like that in their own mind, which in turn sharpen their mental skills. Furthermore, reading out a book is an effective way to improve the communication skills, such as, people can pick up most common words from any article, and can utilize these phrases in their normal life.

On the other hand, watching TV also consider as an important tool in cultivating one’s imaginativeness. Firstly, a TV has a media effects that hardly see in books, and people without any difficulty can analyze the behavior of any story. For example, by watching documentary about how to assemble a laptop, I understood what items I needed, and can imagine how I’ll put all items together. However, in the case of books, no doubt I can get information about items, but cannot imagine how I fix it in right ways. Secondly, the role of TV in boosting linguistic competence is pivotal. As most of the programs not only show the words associating with vivid images but also attract the audience attention with entertaining aspects.

In conclusion, its seem to me that reading books cannot outweigh the role of television in enhancing person’s imaginativeness and language skills.

IELTS Material

Posted on Jul 9, 2017

Your essay is around Band 6.0. You should work on Grammatical Accuracy and Range, especially Subject-Verb Agreement (now at Band 5.0).

Recent Articles

Kasturika Samanta

Raajdeep Saha

Our Offices

Gurgaon city scape, gurgaon bptp.

Step 1 of 3

Great going .

Get a free session from trainer

Have you taken test before?

Please select any option

Get free eBook to excel in test

Please enter Email ID

Get support from an Band 9 trainer

Please enter phone number

Already Registered?

Select a date

Please select a date

Select a time (IST Time Zone)

Please select a time

Mark Your Calendar: Free Session with Expert on

Which exam are you preparing?

Great Going!

Why Should Reading (Books) Be Preferable to Watching (Television)?

• First Online: 01 January 2024

Cite this chapter

• Dalit Milshtein 4 &
• Avishai Henik 5  

219 Accesses

Narrative comprehension may be considered as one of the most essential aspects of reading books as well as watching movies or TV series. Although narratives can sometimes overlap, it would be inaccurate to claim that the reader’s experience is the same as that of the viewer. Can a similar argument be made with respect to the cognitive processes involved in narrative comprehension? Different theoretical approaches emphasize that different cognitive processes are involved in narrative comprehension. Quasi-perception, completion of perception, simulation processes and assimilation in narrative imagery are four relevant perspectives, with extensive, diverse and up-to-date empirical research, as well as a broad theoretical discourse. These different perspectives imply different cognitive bases of narrative comprehension in reading versus watching. In the present chapter, we present key concepts and findings in each of the above perspectives and examine how they can affect narrative comprehension during reading and watching. Importantly, cognitive research cannot unequivocally prioritize one medium (i.e., books) over another (i.e., TV series). Nonetheless, we suggest seriously considering reading as an act that manipulates more cognitive processes and allows for a richer and deeper narrative comprehension compared with watching.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Abbott H (2008) The Cambridge introduction to narrative, 2nd edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

Book   Google Scholar  

Agnati LF, Guidolin D, Battistin L, Pagnoni G, Fuxe K (2013) The neurobiology of imagination: possible role of interaction-dominant dynamics and default mode network. Front Psychol 4:296

Article   Google Scholar  

Andrews-Hanna JR, Reidler JS, Sepulcre J, Poulin R, Buckner RL (2010) Functional-anatomic fractionation of the brain’s default network. Neuron 65(4):550–562

Aristotle (1922) The poetics of Aristotle with critical notes and translation (trans: SH Butcher), 4th edn. Macmillan and Co., London

Google Scholar  

Bar-Hen-Schweiger M, Henik A (2020a) Mental manipulation. Manuscript in preparation

Bar-Hen-Schweiger M, Henik A (2020b) The transition of object to mental manipulation: beyond a species-specific view of intelligence. Animal Cognition. Manuscript online ahead of print. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01375-2

Binet A (1897) The paradox of Diderot. Popul Sci Mon 51:539–544

Borg E (2007) If mirror neurons are the answer, what was the question? J Conscious Stud 14(8):5–19

Bower GH, Clapper JP (1989) Experimental methods in cognitive science. In: Posner MI (ed) Foundations of cognitive science. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 245–300

Bower GH, Morrow DG (1990) Mental models in narrative comprehension. Science 247(4938):44–48

Briscoe RE (2011) Mental imagery and the varieties of amodal perception. Pac Philos Q 92(2):153–173

Britt MA, Rouet J, Braasch JL (2012) What is reading? A review of current constructs and theories. In: Britt MA, Goldman SR, Rouet JF (eds) Reading: from words to multiple texts. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, pp 9–21

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Brosch R (2018) What we ‘see’ when we read: visualization and vividness in reading fictional narratives. Cortex 105:135–143

Bruner J (1991) The narrative construction of reality. Crit Inq 18(1):1–21

Buckner RL, Andrews-Hanna JR, Schacter DL (2008) The brain’s default network: anatomy, function, and relevance to disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1124(1):1–38. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1440.011

Byrne RM (2016) Counterfactual thought. Annu Rev Psychol 67:135–157

Carlson SM, White RE (2013) Executive function, pretend play, and imagination. In: Taylor M (ed) The Oxford handbook of the development of imagination. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 161–174

Cartwright KB (2009) The role of cognitive flexibility in reading comprehension. In: Israel SE, Duffy GG (eds) Handbook of research on reading comprehension. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, New York, pp 115–139

Chatman SB (1980) Story and discourse: narrative structure in fiction and film. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY

Chavez RA (2016) Imagery as a core process in the creativity of successful and awarded artists and scientists and its neurobiological correlates. Front Psychol 7:351

Cumming J, Williams SE (2012) The role of imagery in performance. In: Murphy SM (ed) Handbook of sport and performance psychology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 213–232

D’Argembeau A, Stawarczyk D, Majerus S, Collette F, Van der Linden M, Feyers D et al (2010) The neural basis of personal goal processing when envisioning future events. J Cogn Neurosci 22(8):1701–1713

De Botton A (2002) The art of travel. Vintage, New York

de Vito S, Gamboz N, Brandimonte MA, Barone P, Amboni M, Della Sala S (2012) Future thinking in Parkinson’s disease: an executive function? Neuropsychologia 50(7):1494–1501

Decety J (1996) Do imagined and executed actions share the same neural substrate? Cogn Brain Res 3(2):87–93

Decety J, Grèzes J (2006) The power of simulation: imagining one’s own and other’s behavior. Brain Res 1079(1):4–14

Djikic M, Oatley K, Zoeterman S, Peterson JB (2009) On being moved by art: how reading fiction transforms the self. Creat Res J 21(1):24–29

Driskell JE, Copper C, Moran A (1994) Does mental practice enhance performance? J Appl Psychol 79(4):481–492

Ende M (1983) The neverending story (trans: Manheim R). Penguin, New-York

Eaves DL, Riach M, Holmes PS, Wright DJ (2016) Motor imagery during action observation: A brief review of evidence, theory and future research opportunities. Front Neurosci 10:514

Ferstl EC (2010) Neuroimaging of text comprehension: where are we now? Ital J Linguist 22(1):61–88

Ferstl EC, Neumann J, Bogler C, Von Cramon DY (2008) The extended language network: a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on text comprehension. Hum Brain Mapp 29(5):581–593

Finke RA (1990) Creative imagery: discoveries and inventions in visualization. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ

Finke RA (1996) Imagery, creativity, and emergent structure. Conscious Cogn 5(3):381–393

Fodor JA, Pylyshyn ZW (2015) Minds without meanings: an essay on the content of concepts. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

Gallagher S (2006) The narrative alternative to theory of mind. In: Menary R (ed) Radical enactivism: intentionality, phenomenology, and narrative. John Benjamins, Amsterdam, pp 223–229

Gallagher S (2014) An education in narratives. Educ Philos Theory 46(6):600–609

Gallagher S, Hutto D (2008) Understanding others through primary interaction and narrative practice. In: Zlatev J, Racine TP, Sinha C, Itkonen E (eds) The shared mind: perspectives on intersubjectivity. John Benjamins Publishing, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, pp 17–38

Gallese V, Goldman A (1998) Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading. Trends Cogn Sci 2(12):493–501

Garnham A (1981) Mental models as representations of text. Mem Cognit 9(6):560–565

Genette G (1983) Narrative discourse: an essay in method (trans: Lewin JE). Cornell University Press, Ithica

Glenberg AM (2011) How reading comprehension is embodied and why that matters. Int Electron J ElemTary Educ 4(1):5–18

Glover S, Baran M (2017) The motor-cognitive model of motor imagery: evidence from timing errors in simulated reaching and grasping. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 43(7):1359–1379

Glover S, Bibby E, Tuomi E (2020) Executive functions in motor imagery: support for the motor-cognitive model over the functional equivalence model. Exp Brain Res 238(4):931–944. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05756-4

Godøy RI (2001) Imagined action, excitation, and resonance. In: Godøy RI, Jørgensen H (eds) Musical imagery. Taylor & Francis, New York, pp 237–250

Goldman AI (2012) Theory of mind. In: Margolis E, Samuels R, Stich SP (eds) The Oxford handbook of philosophy of cognitive science. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp 402–424. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195309799.013.0017

Graesser A, Golding JM, Long DL (1991) Narrative representation and comprehension. In: Barr R, Kamil ML, Pearson PD, Mosenthal PB (eds) Handbook of reading research, vol II. Longman, White Plains, NY, pp 171–205

Graesser AC, Singer M, Trabasso T (1994) Constructing inferences during narrative text comprehension. Psychol Rev 101(3):371–395

Green MC, Brock TC (2000) The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. J Pers Soc Psychol 79(5):701–721. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.79.5.701

Grèzes J, Decety J (2001) Functional anatomy of execution, mental simulation, observation, and verb generation of actions: a meta-analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 12(1):1–19

Guillot A, Di Rienzo F, Collet C (2014) The neurofunctional architecture of motor imagery. In: Papageorgiou TD, Christopoulos GI, Smirnakis SM (eds) Advanced brain neuroimaging topics in health and disease-methods and applications. InTech, Rijeka, pp 433–456

Hinyard LJ, Kreuter MW (2007) Using narrative communication as a tool for health behavior change: a conceptual, theoretical, and empirical overview. Health Educ Behav 34(5):777–792

Holmes P, Calmels C (2008) A neuroscientific review of imagery and observation use in sport. J Mot Behav 40(5):433–445

Hoover WA, Gough PB (1990) The simple view of reading. Read Writ 2(2):127–160

Hubbard TL (2013) Auditory imagery contains more than audition. In: Lacey S, Lawson R (eds) Multisensory imagery. Springer, New York, pp 221–247

Hume D (1739/1964) A treatise of human nature. Oxford University Press, Oxford

Hutto DD (2008) Folk psychological narratives: the sociocultural basis of understanding reasons. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

Iacoboni M, Molnar-Szakacs I, Gallese V, Buccino G, Mazziotta JC, Rizzolatti G (2005) Grasping the intentions of others with one’s own mirror neuron system. PLoS Biol 3(3):e79

Jacobs AM, Willems RM (2018) The fictive brain: neurocognitive correlates of engagement in literature. Rev Gen Psychol 22(2):147–160

Janata P, Paroo K (2006) Acuity of auditory images in pitch and time. Percept Psychophys 68(5):829–844

Jeannerod M (2001) Neural simulation of action: a unifying mechanism for motor cognition. Neuroimage 14:S103–S109

Ji JL, Heyes SB, MacLeod C, Holmes EA (2016) Emotional mental imagery as simulation of reality: fear and beyond—a tribute to Peter Lang. Behav Ther 47(5):702–719

Joh AS, Jaswal VK, Keen R (2011) Imagining a way out of the gravity bias: preschoolers can visualize the solution to a spatial problem. Child Dev 82(3):744–750

Johnson DR (2012) Transportation into a story increases empathy, prosocial behavior, and perceptual bias toward fearful expressions. Personality Individ Differ 52(2):150–155

Johnson P (1982) The functional equivalence of imagery and movement. Q J Exp Psychol Sect A 34(3):349–365

Johnson-Laird PN (1983) Mental models: towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

Jung-Beeman M (2005) Bilateral brain processes for comprehending natural language. Trends Cogn Sci 9(11):512–518

Kahneman D, Miller DT (1986) Norm theory: comparing reality to its alternatives. Psychol Rev 93(2):136–153

Kemmerer D (2015) Are the motor features of verb meanings represented in the precentral motor cortices? Yes, but within the context of a flexible, multilevel architecture for conceptual knowledge. Psychon Bull Rev 22(4):1068–1075

Kendeou P, Savage R, Van den Broek P (2009) Revisiting the simple view of reading. Br J Educ Psychol 79(2):353–370

Kiefer M, Pulvermüller F (2012) Conceptual representations in mind and brain: theoretical developments, current evidence and future directions. Cortex 48(7):805–825

Kintsch W (1998) Comprehension: a paradigm for cognition. Cambridge University Press, New York, NY

Kitagawa N, Igarashi Y (2005) Tickle sensation induced by hearing a sound (summary of awarded presentation at the 23rd annual meeting). Jpn J Psychon Sci 24(1):121–122

Koffka K (1935) Principles of Gestalt psychology. Harcourt, Brace and Company, New York

Kosslyn SM (1980) Image and mind. Harvard University Press, Cambridge and London

Kosslyn SM, Ganis G, Thompson WL (2001) Neural foundations of imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci 2:635–642

Kosslyn SM, Ganis G, Thompson WL (2010) Multimodal images in the brain. In: Guillot A, Collet C (eds) The neurophysiological foundations of mental and motor imagery. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 3–16

Kosslyn SM, Thompson WL, Ganis G (2006) The case for mental imagery. Oxford University Press, New York

Krishna A, Morrin M, Sayin E (2014) Smellizing cookies and salivating: a focus on olfactory imagery. Journal of Consumer Research 41(1):18–34

Kurby CA, Zacks JM (2015) Situation models in naturalistic comprehension. In: Willems RM (ed) Cognitive neuroscience of natural language use. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 59–76

Kuzmičová A (2014) Literary narrative and mental imagery: a view from embodied cognition. Style 48(3):275–293

Laeng B, Sulutvedt U (2014) The eye pupil adjusts to imaginary light. Psychol Sci 25(1):188–197

Lang PJ (1979) A bio-informational theory of emotional imagery. Psychophysiology 16(6):495–512

Lang PJ (1987) A reply to Watts and Blackstock. Cogn Emot 1(4):407–426

Lang PJ, Kozak MJ, Miller GA, Levin DN, McLean A Jr (1980) Emotional imagery: conceptual structure and pattern of somato-visceral response. Psychophysiology 17(2):179–192

Lewis CT (1890) An elementary Latin dictionary. American Book Company, New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago

Lorey B, Naumann T, Pilgramm S, Petermann C, Bischoff M, Zentgraf K et al (2013). How equivalent are the action execution, imagery, and observation of intransitive movements? Revisiting the concept of somatotopy during action simulation. Brain Cogn 81(1):139–150

Louwerse MM (2011) Symbol interdependency in symbolic and embodied cognition. Top Cogn Sci 3(2):273–302

Malouin F, Jackson PL, Richards CL (2013) Towards the integration of mental practice in rehabilitation programs. A critical review. Front Hum Neurosci 7:576

Malouin F, Richards CL (2010) Mental practice for relearning locomotor skills. Phys Ther 90(2):240–251

Mar RA, Oatley K (2008) The function of fiction is the abstraction and simulation of social experience. Perspect Psychol Sci 3(3):173–192

Mathôt S, Grainger J, Strijkers K (2017) Pupillary responses to words that convey a sense of brightness or darkness. Psychol Sci 28(8):1116–1124

McNamara P, Durso R, Brown A, Lynch A (2003) Counterfactual cognitive deficit in persons with Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 74(8):1065–1070

McNorgan C (2012) A meta-analytic review of multisensory imagery identifies the neural correlates of modality-specific and modality-general imagery. Front Hum Neurosci 6:285

McTeague LM, Lang PJ (2012) The anxiety spectrum and the reflex physiology of defense: from circumscribed fear to broad distress. Depress Anxiety 29(4):264–281

Metz C (1982) The imaginary signifier: psychoanalysis and the cinema. Indiana University Press, Bloomington

Michotte A, Thinès G, Crabbé G (1991) Amodal completion of perceptual structures. In: Thinès G, Costall A, Butterworth G (eds) Michotte’s experimental phenomenology of perception (trans: Miles E, Miles TR). Routledge, London, pp 140–167

Milshtein D, Henik A (2020) Do you feel like me or not? This is the question: manipulation of emotional imagery modulates affective priming. Conscious Cogn 85:103026

Milshtein D, Hershman R, Henik A (2020) Attention to intention: pupillometry as a temporal measure for an intentional component during emotional imagery. Manuscript submitted for publication

Morris T, Spittle M, Watt AP (2005) Imagery in sport. Human Kinetics Books

Munzert J, Lorey B, Zentgraf K (2009) Cognitive motor processes: the role of motor imagery in the study of motor representations. Brain Res Rev 60(2):306–326

Nanay B (2010) Perception and imagination: amodal perception as mental imagery. Philos Stud 150(2):239–254

Nanay B (2018) Multimodal mental imagery. Cortex 105:125–134

Newman EJ, Lindsay DS (2009) False memories: what the hell are they for? Appl Cogn Psychol 23(8):1105–1121

Nichols S, Stich SP (2003) Mindreading: an integrated account of pretence, self-awareness, and understanding other minds. Oxford University Press, Oxford

Oatley K (2016) Fiction: simulation of social worlds. Trends Cogn Sci 20(8):618–628

Olsson C, Nyberg L (2011) Brain simulation of action may be grounded in physical experience. Neurocase 17(6):501–505

Pearson DG, Deeprose C, Wallace-Hadrill SM, Heyes SB, Holmes EA (2013) Assessing mental imagery in clinical psychology: a review of imagery measures and a guiding framework. Clin Psychol Rev 33(1):1–23

Pearson D, De Beni R, Cornoldi C (2012) The generation, maintenance, and transformation of visuo-spatial mental images. Imagery, language and visuo-spatial thinking. Psychology Press, pp 17–44

Pearson J, Naselaris T, Holmes EA, Kosslyn SM (2015) Mental imagery: functional mechanisms and clinical applications. Trends Cogn Sci 19(10):590–602

Perfect TJ, Wagstaff GF, Moore D, Andrews B, Cleveland V, Newcombe S et al (2008) How can we help witnesses to remember more? It’s an (eyes) open and shut case. Law and Hum Behav 32(4):314-324

Pessoa L, Thompson E, Noë A (1998) Finding out about filling-in: a guide to perceptual completion for visual science and the philosophy of perception. Behav Brain Sci 21(6):723–748

Piaget J, Inhelder B (1971) Mental imagery in the child. Basic Books Inc., New York

Pressley M, Duke NK, Gaskins IW, Fingeret L, Halladay J, Hilden K, Collins S (2009) Working with struggling readers: why we must get beyond the simple view of reading and visions of how it might be done. In: Gutkin TB, Reynolds CR (eds) The handbook of school psychology. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, pp 522–546

Radvansky GA, Copeland DE (2010) Reading times and the detection of event shift processing. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 36(1):210–216

Radvansky GA, Zacks JM (2014) Event cognition. Oxford University Press, Oxford

Raichle ME (2015) The brain’s default mode network. Annu Rev Neurosci 38:433–447

Ribot T (1906) Essay on the creative imagination (trans: Baron AHN). Open Court Publishing Co., Chicago

Richards CA, Sanderson JA (1999) The role of imagination in facilitating deductive reasoning in 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. Cognition 72(2):B1–B9

Rinck M, Weber U (2003) Who when where: an experimental test of the event-indexing model. Mem Cognit 31(8):1284–1292

Rizzolatti G, Craighero L (2004) The mirror-neuron system. Annu Rev Neurosci 27:169–192

Rizzolatti G, Fogassi L (2014) The mirror mechanism: recent findings and perspectives. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B: Biol Sci 369(1644):20130420

Rosenbaum DA, Chapman KM, Weigelt M, Weiss DJ, van der Wel R (2012) Cognition, action, and object manipulation. Psychol Bull 138(5):924–946

Sarbin TR (1972) Imagining as muted role-taking: a historical-linguistic analysis. In: Sheehan PW (ed) The function and nature of imagery. Academic Press, New York, pp 333–354

Sarbin TR (1986) Narrative psychology: the storied nature of human conduct. Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Publishing Group

Sarbin TR (1998) Believed-in imaginings: a narrative approach. In: de Rivera J, Sarbin TR (eds) Believed-in imaginings: the narrative construction of reality. American Psychological Association, pp 15–30

Schacter DL, Addis DR, Buckner RL (2007) Remembering the past to imagine the future: the prospective brain. Nat Rev Neurosci 8(9):657–661

Schacter DL, Addis DR, Hassabis D, Martin VC, Spreng RN, Szpunar KK (2012) The future of memory: remembering, imagining, and the brain. Neuron 76(4):677–694

Schiff B (2012) The function of narrative: toward a narrative psychology of meaning. Narrative Matters 2(1):33–47

Shepard RN, Metzler J (1971) Mental rotation of three-dimensional objects. Science 171(3972):701–703

Slater MD, Rouner D (2002) Entertainment—education and elaboration likelihood: understanding the processing of narrative persuasion. Commun Theory 12(2):173–191

Spence C, Deroy O (2013) Crossmodal mental imagery. In: Spence C, Deroy O (eds) Multisensory imagery. Springer, New York, pp 157–183

Stokes D (2019) Mental imagery and fiction. Can J Philos 49(6):731–754

Suggate SP, Martzog P (2020) Screen-time influences children’s mental imagery performance. Dev Sci 23(6):e12978 [online ahead of print].

Thomas NJ (2009) Visual imagery and consciousness. In: Banks W (ed) Encyclopedia of consciousness. Academic Press, Oxford, pp 445–457

Thomas NJ (2014) The multidimensional spectrum of imagination: images, dreams, hallucinations, and active, imaginative perception. Humanities 3(2):132–184

Tolkien JRR (1954) The lord of the rings. Allen & Unwin, London

Tolstoy LN (1952) War and peace (trans: Goldberg L). Sifriat Poalim, Tel-Aviv

Tomasino B, Rumiati RI (2013) At the mercy of strategies: the role of motor representations in language understanding. Front Psychol 4:27

Valkenburg PM, Beentjes JW (1997) Children’s creative imagination in response to radio and television stories. J Commun 47(2):21–38

Valkenburg PM, Van der Voort TH (1994) Influence of TV on daydreaming and creative imagination: a review of research. Psychol Bull 116(2):316–339

Van der Voort TH, Valkenburg PM (1994) Television’s impact on fantasy play: a review of research. Dev Rev 14(1):27–51

Van Dijk TA, Kintsch W (1983) Strategies of discourse comprehension. Academic Press, New York

Vredeveldt A, Hitch GJ, Baddeley AD (2011) Eyeclosure helps memory by reducing cognitive load and enhancing visualisation. Mem Cognit 39(7):1253–1263

Vredeveldt A, Penrod SD (2013) Eye-closure improves memory for a witnessed event under naturalistic conditions. Psychol, Crime Law 19(10):893–905

Wagemans J, Elder JH, Kubovy M, Palmer SE, Peterson MA, Singh M, von der Heydt R (2012) A century of Gestalt psychology in visual perception: I. perceptual grouping and figure–ground organization. Psychol Bull 138(6):1172–1217

Willems RM, Casasanto D (2011) Flexibility in embodied language understanding. Front Psychol 2:116

Wimmer MC, Doherty MJ, Collins WA (2011) The development of ambiguous figure perception. Monogr Soc Res Child Dev 76(1):i–130

Wimmer MC, Maras KL, Robinson EJ, Doherty MJ, Pugeault N (2015) How visuo-spatial mental imagery develops: image generation and maintenance. PLoS ONE 10(11):e0142566

Worth SE (2008) Storytelling and narrative knowing: an examination of the epistemic benefits of well-told stories. Journal of Aesthetic Education 42(3):42–56

Yang X, Li H, Lin N, Zhang X, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Yang Y (2019) Uncovering cortical activations of discourse comprehension and their overlaps with common large-scale neural networks. NeuroImage 203:116200

Zwaan RA (2016) Situation models, mental simulations, and abstract concepts in discourse comprehension. Psychon Bull Rev 23(4):1028–1034

Zwaan RA, Magliano JP, Graesser AC (1995) Dimensions of situation model construction in narrative comprehension. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 21(2):386–397

Zwaan RA, Radvansky GA (1998) Situation models in language comprehension and memory. Psychol Bull 123(2):162–185

Zwaan RA, Singer M (2003) Text comprehension. In: Graesser AC, Gernsbacher MA, Goldman SR (eds) Handbook of discourse processes. Routledge, pp 89–127

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Dalit Milshtein

Departmant of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Avishai Henik

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dalit Milshtein .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

Wei Loong David Hung

Azilawati Jamaludin

Aishah Abdul Rahman

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Milshtein, D., Henik, A. (2023). Why Should Reading (Books) Be Preferable to Watching (Television)?. In: Hung, W.L.D., Jamaludin, A., Rahman, A.A. (eds) Applying the Science of Learning to Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5378-3_6

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-5378-3_6

Published : 01 January 2024

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-99-5377-6

Online ISBN : 978-981-99-5378-3

eBook Packages : Behavioral Science and Psychology Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Why Reading a Book is 20x Better Than Watching TV

Did you know that reading a book for only six minutes can lower your stress levels by 68%?

Or what about the fact that adults who read for just 30 minutes a week are 20% more likely to report greater life satisfaction?. You might not believe it, but this ancient pastime is like hardcore exercise for your brain!

Reading is far more healthy, useful and beneficial than watching television. In fact, reading books can lead towards positive changes to your cognitive ability, mood and even your general happiness. Not to mention it can make you a much more interesting and well-rounded person.

Is reading books better than watching TV?

Reading books is better than watching TV. Reading can prevent some diseases, prepares for life and exercises your brain. Watching TV is bad for physical health and has negative impact on your brain.

What's Included in This Post

Why should you pick books over TV?

These days, many people are looking towards the written word instead of television or streaming.

It’s a proven fact that modern trends of media consumption are leading to very problematic habits , which are ultimately affecting our abilities to focus, recall information or simply pay attention.

If you need some convincing arguments to swap the gogglebox for some hardbacks then you’ve come to the right place.

1. Reading Exercises Your Brain

Rather than let you be inactive, reading requires your full, undivided attention.

Pssst! No time for reading? Click here to reveal how to read a whole book in 15 minutes!

This doesn’t mean that you need to grab the works of Shakespeare every time you sit down to read, but it does mean that instead of sitting on the sofa, passively taking in information, you’ll be exercising your imagination, vocabulary, comprehension, as well as many other brain functions.

Studies have shown that reading is able to leave physical changes to the brain days after a person reads a book . Subjects showed heightened brain ability even when they weren’t actively reading.

2. It’s Cheaper Than TV

TV, streaming or going to the movies are all expensive activities. Whether you’re paying for license fees, subscriptions or one-off payments, the cost to watch films and shows is certainly felt by your wallet. Conversely, books are considerably cheaper. Of course there’s fancy hardbacks that make your collection look like an 18th century library, but for the most part, cheap paperbacks are always in abundance.

There’s always second-hand books too. You can find books almost anywhere, in any genre. Because of their abundance, these books cost next to nothing, and you can find some real bargains if you’re willing to sift through some dusty old tomes.

3. You Can Read Anywhere

Unlike TV, you don’t need to be plugged in to enjoy reading. And while your smartphone might let you sign in to Netflix or YouTube, you’re much better off leaving your phone fully charged, for when you actually need to use it. Instead, why not read a book? You can read as much or as little as you like, wherever you like! Whether you’re sitting in your garden or you’re catching a bus, there’s no bad time to get through a couple of chapters.

4. Reading Fiction Can Prepare You For Life

Amazingly, reading books that don’t always provide closure can actually lead to real life benefits in the future.

People tend to need closure in all aspects of life, but unfortunately life doesn’t always provide the neat ribbon that many of us crave. Indulging in fiction that leaves things to the imagination or doesn’t give readers all the answers can apparently reduce our need for ‘cognitive closure’. This means that people can become better at dealing with uncertain or unforeseen situations.

5. Reading Can Help Prevent Dementia & Alzheimers

Years of study into brain disease like dementia and alzheimers have shown that reading regularly helps to maintain the health of the brain and to slow the development of disease . From early adolescence into old age, regular readers are shown to have greater brain health.

Research highlights time and time again that individuals who regularly participated in mentally stimulating activities (like reading or puzzles) across their lifespan had a noticeably slower rate of memory decline than those who didn’t.

6. There’s a Book for Everyone

Most of the shows on television are identical to each other. In TV land, producers want shows that are projected to get good ratings, not push boundaries. This means that lots of the shows on TV are samey, boring and predictable.

Books on the other hand cover an almost endless range of topics, styles and genres. From literary classics to experimental, modern novels, the different stories, lessons and worlds are almost infinite. Dive into deep and mysterious dungeons in a fantasy setting, or hop onto a world-trotting adventure in an air balloon. Or if fiction isn’t your thing, learn about everything from cooking to ancient history in the thousands of non-fiction books that are published every year.

What’s Wrong with TV?

1. It’s Bad for Your Physical Health

Whilst TV turning your eyes square might be an old wives’ tale, there are actually lots of negative health effects of spending too much time staring at the television screen.

For example, when asked, respondents were 71% more likely to develop a blood clot if they watched television “very often”.

Similarly, those who watched tv for more than four hours a day had 5 0% greater risk of heart disease and premature death .

Clearly, sitting down for extended periods encourages a lack of exercise and probably a poor diet. These daily habits then snowball into long-term health problems.

2. It Has a Negative Impact on Your Brain

TV is able to warp your brain’s natural functions. In fact, research shows that watching television during childhood can lead to attention problems which can follow into adult life .

Even anecdotal evidence shows that people are more likely to watch TV in excess when they are depressed or mentally unwell. Binge-watching can then spiral rapidly, making you feel worse and reliant on the dopamine that is released when you’re staring at the screen.

3. TV Makes You Sedentary

You don’t need to move around very much when watching television. Aside from the occasional wriggle to find where the remote has got to, you can spend hours potentially doing absolutely nothing.

And while you might think that doing nothing would have a neutral impact on your body, you’d be wrong.

Research highlights that standing up and moving around even for short periods allows the body to regulate itself properly. Glucose and insulin can do their jobs much more efficiently even with 2 minutes of movement.

4. Television is Linked to Social Isolation

You know the image: a person sat in front of the TV screen, their face lit up with that familiar blue glow, their eyes sad and tired as they watch endless programming, entirely alone.

In a report done by ABC, watching too much television cuts out the benefits of social interaction in a person’s life. This in turn, affects other areas of their lives.

It’s also a kind of twisted feedback loop , where people might depend on watching television due to loneliness, and then will slowly become more isolated because they rely so heavily on watching TV.

What Books Should I Read to Get the Most Out of It?

While reading is basically a universal good, there are certain types of books that can give you the most benefits as possible, depending on what you are after.

Read Non-fiction

If you want to gain practical and useful skills from reading then the best route is through non-fiction books that are centred on improving your skills in the real world .

There are plenty of self-help books, life guides and improvement books on the market, but they aren’t all made equal. It’s important to make sure that whatever you read is based on science, as there’s plenty of books out there that will fill your brain with more clutter than you started with.

Read Fiction

Of course, fiction might not be ‘real’, but that doesn’t mean its usefullness isn’t either .

Research has shown that one of the benefits of being sucked into a novel is enhanced connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. Novels, whether long or short, can help you explore new ideas, connect with your emotions, and open up your mind to new possibilities. Reading a book can help you strengthen your empathy, allowing yourself to relate to different characters, each with their unique backstory.

Analyse Your Books

Reading isn’t just about the literal process of identifying words on a page, it’s also about digesting information, examining it and forming your own ideas.

When you finish a book ask yourself ‘What was that book about’? You’d be surprised at the different answers people give. You can begin to think about the author’s intentions about the book, whether the characters were supposed to be the heroes, or if they were actually the villains.

Hopefully this list has convinced you to swap out some of your television hours for a bit of quality time with a good book.

Related posts:

• Should You Really Read Harry Potter? (It’s Not for Everyone)
• 7 Reasons Why Reading is the Same as Meditation
• 7 Reasons Why Reading in the Car is the Worst Idea
• 6 Great Reasons to Read “Pride and Prejudice” in 2021
• Why is love compared to electricity so often?

Similar Posts

5 Real Reasons Why Books are So Expensive in 2022

If you’re an avid reader, you will, of course, know how expensive books are. Have you ever wondered why they are so expensive? I will today answer this question for you. Once you go through the article below, it is easy to understand why are books so expensive? I will share the reasons below and…

12 Easy Tips on How to Find Time for Reading

Close to 6.7 billion people know how to read because there is so much value in it. You can find time to read and achieve your goals through dedication and focus, especially in the evenings and morning. When you think about the value of reading, you will find yourself creating plenty of time for it….

How (And What) To Read To Gain The Most Knowledge

Every person strives to learn. Some people want to gain a new hobby, whiles others want to better themselves in a skill they already possess. We go to schools, libraries, conferences, and social events to gain something new, and that something is knowledge. Today’s question is : how to gain knowledge by reading books? The best…

7 Reasons to Read “Game of Thrones” (Even After Watching It)

I’m sure you all remember how fans gave in when they realized the Game of Thrones series is about to come to an end. Whether you liked the ending or not, there is always an inner feeling that makes you feel that each second spent watching it was worth it. Now the real question is…

Are Audiobooks Faster Than Reading? (I Checked It)

As technology is improving, people are getting more and more inclined towards digitalization. With the advent of smartphones and internet, many things are possible these days. One of the most advanced technologies is the audiobook where a person reads out a book and you can listen to it. According to a new research report, 1…

Books or Articles? Which is Better for You?

Are you an avid reader? If so, you will, of course, have the question, is it better to read books or articles? Today, I will compare reading books vs articles. Once you go through the article below, you can settle this debate once and for all. Let me now answer this common question which readers…

Essay on Books Are Better Than Television

Students are often asked to write an essay on Books Are Better Than Television in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Books Are Better Than Television

The power of books.

Books are treasures of knowledge. They offer a deep dive into different worlds, helping to expand our imagination and creativity. Unlike TV, books stimulate our minds, encouraging us to think and visualize.

Books Enhance Vocabulary

Reading books enhances vocabulary. Each page introduces new words, improving language skills. TV often uses simple language, limiting vocabulary growth.

Books Improve Concentration

Books require focus and concentration. This helps in improving attention span. Television, on the other hand, often promotes passive consumption.

Books Are Portable

Books are portable and can be enjoyed anywhere, anytime. TV requires electricity and specific place to watch.

In conclusion, books offer numerous advantages over television, making them a better choice for knowledge and entertainment.

250 Words Essay on Books Are Better Than Television

The intrinsic value of books.

Reading books offers a unique experience that television cannot match. It engages the mind in a deeper and more complex manner. Books allow readers to delve into the intricacies of a character’s thoughts, emotions, and motivations, fostering empathy and understanding. On the contrary, television presents a pre-interpreted and visually packaged version of stories, leaving little room for personal interpretation.

Books Enhance Cognitive Skills

Books also have cognitive benefits. Reading stimulates brain activity, improves concentration, and enhances memory. It’s a mental workout, requiring the brain to translate symbols (words) into concepts and ideas. In contrast, television encourages passive consumption, which does not stimulate the brain in the same way.

Books: A Portal to Imagination

Books are gateways to imagination. They allow readers to visualize characters, settings, and events in their own unique way, promoting creativity. Television, however, robs viewers of this opportunity by providing ready-made images.

The Longevity of Books

Books have a timeless quality. They can be revisited, savored, and studied, with new insights gleaned each time. Television shows, conversely, are often transient and fleeting, with less substance for repeated consumption.

While television has its place in entertainment and information dissemination, books offer a more enriching and engaging experience. They stimulate the mind, foster empathy, and spark creativity. Therefore, books are indeed better than television.

500 Words Essay on Books Are Better Than Television

Introduction.

Books and television are two of the most popular sources of entertainment and knowledge. While television has a mass appeal due to its visual and auditory nature, books have their unique charm that has withstood the test of time. This essay will explore the reasons why books are superior to television.

Depth of Content

One of the primary reasons books are superior to television is the depth of content they offer. Books, unlike television shows, are not constrained by time slots or commercial breaks. They can delve deep into the subject matter, providing intricate details and complex narratives that television often simplifies. This depth allows readers to engage with the material more thoroughly, fostering critical thinking and analytical skills.

Stimulating Imagination

Books stimulate imagination in a way television cannot. Reading a book allows the reader to visualize characters, settings, and events in their mind, making the experience highly personalized. This active engagement of the mind enhances cognitive abilities and promotes creativity. On the other hand, television provides ready-made images, leaving little room for imagination.

Improving Language Skills

Books are an excellent tool for improving language skills. They expose readers to a wide range of vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and nuanced use of language. This exposure not only enhances reading comprehension but also improves writing skills. Television, conversely, often uses colloquial language and simplified sentences, which may not contribute significantly to language learning.

Less Distraction, More Focus

Books demand focus and concentration from the reader. This sustained attention promotes mental stamina and improves concentration skills. Television, with its quick scene changes, advertisements, and often sensational content, can be more distracting and less conducive to developing these skills.

Control Over Pace

Books provide control over the pace of consumption. Readers can pause, reflect, reread, or skip sections based on their understanding and interest. This flexibility allows for a more personalized and satisfying experience. Television, however, follows a set pace, leaving viewers little control over their viewing experience.

While television has its merits, books offer a richer, more engaging experience. They provide depth, stimulate imagination, enhance language skills, demand focus, and offer control over the pace. Thus, books, in many ways, are better than television. As we navigate the digital age, it is crucial to promote the habit of reading, ensuring that the charm and benefits of books are not lost in the glare of screens.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Advantages of Reading Books
• Essay on Save Forest
• Essay on Importance of Forest

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Essay Samples
• College Essay
• Writing Tools
• Writing guide

Creative samples from the experts

↑ Return to Essay Samples

Argumentative Essay: TV is Taking Away the Habit of Reading Books

Ever since the invention of books, reading has been a popular past time with those able to read. As literacy levels increased, reading soon became something that the majority of the population enjoyed, and because literacy and reading are integral to each other, the more people read books, the better they could read, and the better educated they became. But more recently, technology means that less and less people are choosing to read to fill their time. One of the main things that people now do in their free time when they ordinarily would have been reading is to watch television, and there are a number of reasons why this is happening.

First of all, watching television is easier than reading. It doesn’t require us to use our brains as much or concentrate as hard, so watching TV can be more appealing after a long day of work. Furthermore, some people are not very well educated and do not want to be, and would consider reading to be something done by intellectuals only. But this perpetuates the problem and becomes a cycle, whereby people don’t read because they can’t read well, and never will read better because they won’t read.

The increase in choice of TV programmes also means that more and more people are choosing to watch TV. When there were only a handful of channels available, if there was nothing on that someone wanted to watch, they would pick up a book. But now, with the great choice of channels and the ability to record and watch on demand too, we can always find something on that we are interested in watching, so we are less likely to pick up a book because we are bored with the television.

The cost of books is also having an impact, because with television you don’t have to pay for as much as you want. There are subscription costs and license fees, but once you’ve paid those, you can watch as little or as much TV as you want, with the only additional cost being electricity. With books, however, the more you read, the more you have to spend. And while it’s true that you can pick them up second hand, sometimes it’s hard to find what you want, and some people don’t like to buy things second hand, so the price of books compared to television could certainly be a factor.

Overall, there can be no doubt that the availability, choice and price of television are meaning that less people are choosing to read books. Plus, because reading improves with practice and technology is moving forward all the time, it is a situation that is only going to get worse.

Follow Us on Social Media

Get more free essays

Send via email

Most useful resources for students:.

• Free Essays Download
• Writing Tools List
• Proofreading Services
• Universities Rating

Contributors Bio

Find more useful services for students

Free plagiarism check, professional editing, online tutoring, free grammar check.

The Debate: Is reading ‘better’ than watching TV?

I t’s an age old debate that still gets people’s goats going – not least due to the snobbish presumptions behind those who back books. So let’s determine the answer once and for all: is reading morally better for you than watching TV?

Yes: There are creative benefits to reading

In an increasingly online world there is nothing more relaxing than sitting down, grabbing a book, and reading for a few hours. Not only is it a better feeling than sitting in front of a television and gazing into the pixels for hours on end, but it does actually have some objective advantages over watching TV. 

The general scientific consensus is that the positive effects of reading are overwhelming when it comes to the development of children. This article in a child neuropsychology journal found a clear correlation between reading and executive function – which is objectively good. 

Looking at the creative benefits of books, they demand that readers construct their own mental images, scenarios and interpretations of the text. TV provides pre-visualised content, limiting the viewers’ need to imagine and create mental images – stripping the viewer of the active imagination process that reading has. 

Books also offer in-depth exploration of characters and plots, encouraging critical thinking from the readers, whereas TV often focuses on visual appeal and entertainment. A perfect example of this would be Game of Thrones , and we all know the absolute assassination that was committed against the TV adaptation’s plotline there. 

I know that it is somewhat hypocritical for me, a semi-regular television pundit, to be knocking TV, but you simply cannot deny that books offer a more active and engaging experience than television. Reading not only fosters a deeper understanding of the world, but also encourages a lifelong habit of learning and curiosity; so it is therefore inherently better than watching TV.

No: It’s the quality of message that matters not the format

To think watching TV is better or worse than reading is to misunderstand the value of ideas. 

You could arbitrarily compare Mrs Brown’s Boys to Nobokov’s Pale Fire and decide that Literature Is Better, Actually. But you could just as easily compare Twin Peaks The Return or The Curse to the Alex Cross novel my dad bought me for Christmas, a book so terrible it almost becomes good before becoming terrible again in a whole new way.

You could talk all day about the effect reading has on your neurons or your brain chemistry but that’s quite literally academic (and anyway, a 2016 study found “no significant difference in comprehension between reading and listening”). What really matters is  what  you’re consuming – and we’re living through an age where some of the best creative minds are working in television. 

People once hated the printing press, in the late 1700s they hated novels, then they hated TV and then they hated video games and soon they will hate something else and the people making art in those mediums will just get on with it. Haters gonna hate.

There’s a line in the song Sex is Boring by the underappreciated band Ballboy that sums it up: “And you’ve read more books than I, I could ever read… So why is it, why is it that you don’t know any more than me?”

It’s because reading isn’t inherently better than any other way of absorbing information – it’s the quality of the message that matters, not the slip of paper or cluster of LEDs you’re looking at.

The Verdict: As a newspaper, you can guess where we cast our vote…

It was courageous of our lifestyle editor to argue for TV over books in a debate column that is judged by a proudly in-print newspaper.

But Dinneen makes a compelling argument: it’s true that the printing press was once despised by the snobs of yore; people even destroyed them out of terror. We should all fear being anti progress and it’s undeniable that TV shows like Mad Men are richer in texture than the latest Mills & Boone. Moreover, to suggest that reading alone fosters learning and curiosity seems ignorant to the power of some of the best, eye-opening documentaries .

Yet equally, is there not also something in Twelves’s argument for the benefits of books – that the demanding experience of reading, which requires one’s absolute attention, improves concentration and active imagination?

Reading a book demands that one conjures up an image of character or place, whereas TV does not. Reading demands engagement in a way TV does not. Most importantly, reading is how this paper makes its money. So verdict? Reading is good! May we suggest a copy of a certain City A.M. ?

The Debate: The urban fox – friend or foe?

Books Vs Movies: Which Is Better? The Debate Settled!

Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Louisa

Books and movies are two of the most popular forms of entertainment, but which is better? This age-old debate of books vs movies has been causing a stir for decades, so I’ve decided it’s time to settle the score once and for all.

While both offer unique ways to experience stories, there are pros and cons for each. When determining which is better, reading books or watching movies, the answer really is determined by a number of factors.

If you ask any reader, they will of course tell you all the reasons why books are better than movies, but if you ask a movie buff, you will receive a strong counter-argument for why movies are better.

In this guide, I’ve listed the reasons why you would want to choose a book over a movie, or a movie over a book, and in doing so, settle the debate once and for all.

To be clear, in this guide, we are concentrating on books that have been adapted into movies.

Books vs Movies Pros and Cons

If you need a quick summary of whether reading books or watching movies is better, then check out the below table which summarizes the points in this article.

Keep reading for a detailed analysis of reading books vs watching movies.

Pros of reading books over movies

• There is more depth to a book, scenes are described in more detail, and have more plot-setting scenes.
• A book allows the reader to use their imagination.
• Readers follow the plot as it was intended by the author.

Cons of reading books over movies

• Books take a long time to read, sometimes several days.
• Some books can drag in the middle.
• Dialogues can sometimes be unrealistic in books but come to life on the big screen.

Pros of watching movies over reading books

• Movies are quicker than books.
• You can watch a movie with a friend, but you can’t read a book with someone else.
• You don’t have to concentrate on a movie and there is less need for your own imagination.
• Acting is an art form.

Cons of watching movies over reading books

• Scenes are often adapted or deleted based on what looks better visually.
• Viewers are often left asking questions because scenes from the book not being included.
• Characters can often be drastically changed.

Why books are better than movies?

If you’re a book enthusiast looking for arguments for books over movies, these are some of the reasons why books are better than movies.

#1. Books nurture the reader’s imagination

When it comes to reading books, readers have an unparalleled level of control in terms of how they visualize the story. When I first read The Hobbit, I pictured a very different-looking Bilbo Baggins to that seen on screen.

Readers can also move through a story at their own pace and use their imagination to create vivid scenes in their mind’s eye. Sometimes even filling in the blanks where there are questions that need answering.

Not only this, but you also get to experience the book in the way the author intended. When directors make a movie adaptation, they have to decide what scenes are the most action-packed and therefore keep the audience engaged.

This often means that some scenes are cut out from the plot that may seem important to the overall storyline.

The biggest example of this is how characters are described in books. Often characters in books look different in movies.

Frankenstein’s monster comes to mind here. In the book, he is described as:

“He is so gentle, yet so wise; his mind is so cultivated; and when he speaks, although his words are culled with the choicest art, yet they flow with rapidity and unparalleled eloquence.” Frankenstein, Victor Hugo, Letter 4

The monster was intended to be gentle. Frankenstein wanted to create a friend, not the brutish monster that we see in the movies.

#2. Books have more depth than movies

But the biggest argument as to why books might be better than movies is that books often have more depth than films due to the additional time they spend on character development and intricate plot points.

When I talk about depth, I am referring to descriptions. The reader gets more insight into how words are said, how characters look, and how scenes are created.

The small details in a book, such as short scenes or little descriptions, are the parts of a book that help readers ask the right questions, start to piece parts of the story together, and even predict what will happen next.

There are usually some key depth features that are missing in movies.

#3. Movie adaptations miss out on key points

If you think about the number of hours you spend reading a book compared to watching a movie, then you get an idea as to how much is missing.

Films tend to lack some of the detail and nuance found in books due to time constraints. This usually leads to unanswered questions after watching the movie.

One of the biggest examples of this is in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

In the movie, there is a scene in which Harry sees a patronus charm of a doe, which leads him to a pond covered in ice where he discovers the sword of Griffindor beneath the surface.

If you watch the movie without reading the book, this scene would be somewhat confusing.

While we do later learn that Severus Snape’s patronus is a doe, and therefore alludes to him placing the sword for Harry to find, the movie never answers the question: how does Snape find Harry?

We also don’t learn how Snape has the sword in the first instance and why it never fell into the ministry’s hands.

While I absolutely loved the movies, I can honestly say I loved it more because I had read the book prior to watching and was able to fill in the blanks.

My partner has never read the books (yes I know, a book blogger is dating someone who has not read Harry Potter. Dumpable offense? Let me know in the comments) and he was constantly badgering me with questions to which I always responded with “in the book, this happens”

#4. Reading has other benefits

There is more to reading books than just following a story. Reading helps to grow your knowledge, expand your creative horizons, and even helps improve your mood.

According to Healthline , reading books can help strengthen your brain, both cognitively and in terms of your mental health.

So you see, there are many reasons why reading is important , not just for something fun to do!

#5. Books allow the reader to think more deeply

Books often have an underlying theme or moral tone that allows the reader to think deeply about certain topics or situations.

The storylines can help you to empathize with certain characters, and reflect on how situations would be handled in our own world.

In classic literature books such as 1984 , for example, there are a lot of areas in which the reader can think about how political influences shape society, but in the movie, you do get a sense of this but it is less developed than in the book.

Why are movies better than books?

If you’re looking for arguments for movies being better than books, here are some reasons why you may prefer a film vs a book.

#1. Movies help bring hard-to-visualize scenes to life

Movies offer a unique cinematic experience that allows viewers to sit back and enjoy a story without having to actively think about it.

This is great for those who don’t have a vivid imagination or struggle to see a clear picture of what an author is describing in their mind.

Movies provide visuals that can often be breathtakingly beautiful or incredibly intense, sometimes more so than written in a book.

One great example of this is in The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.

In the book, Bilbo is hit on the head and knocked out for the whole battle. Only when he awakes does Gandalf fill him in on what happens, but it’s short and to the point.

When you watch the movie, you see all these incredible stunts and action-packed scenes.

Yes, it does feature some gravity-defying performances from Legolas who does not appear in the books, which is something Peter Jackson decided to add to the storyline to make the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit franchise more connected.

But in the book, you don’t get any of that.

#2. Acting is an art form

Something that readers may not appreciate about movie adaptations is the acting.

Acting is an art form, and by watching movies, audiences can appreciate acting performances as well as special effects such as CGI or stunts that would be much more difficult to experience in a book.

#3. Movies are quicker than books

Reading often requires more time and effort than watching a movie. Reading a book from start to finish usually takes a few days with breaks in between.

If you do sit down to read from start to finish, you can take several hours to get through the entire story.

One reason why you wouldn’t want to do this is that you will instantly forget what happens or you won’t appreciate the detail enough.

Reading should be savored like a fine wine, allowing you to digest information and ponder on the themes, morals, and messages.

If you don’t have time on your side, then movies are your saving grace.

#4. Social interactions are more relatable in movies

Often times when I am reading the dialogue in a book, I feel it’s too staged, or unnatural.

When dialogue is spoken in a movie, it can feel more authentic, as often actors will improvise the script and make it feel more real.

#5. You can watch a film with friends

While you can always go to a book club to talk about a book you love, this is really an activity that hardcore readers enjoy more.

When you go to the cinema, it becomes a larger social outing that can bring together people with all different hobbies and interests.

Should Books Be Made Into Movies?

So while you can now see there are many pros and cons to books and movies, the question remains; should books be made into movies?

Absolutely.

While we can all agree that there is less detail in a movie than in a book, I personally feel that when a book I love has been made well on the big screen, I love the book more.

The best example of this is Lord of the Rings. It doesn’t matter how many times I watch the movies or read the books, I fall in love with the story and characters all over again.

I also find that when I’m not in the mood to read, watching a movie brings back fond memories of the book and helps me get out of a reading slump and inspired to read again.

And it’s not just me that thinks this. According to a study by SuperSummary , 82% of people agree that movie adaptations bring a book to life.

Books vs Movies: The Verdict

Ultimately, which form is better comes down to personal preference as both offer unique experiences that shouldn’t be compared side by side.

While books allow you to use your imagination to its fullest, movies allow the viewer to follow a story without concentrating.

You get more depth to a plot from a book, but you spend less time watching a movie.

Whichever way you choose, whether it’s curling up with a good book or settling into your couch for some movie night fun, there can be no doubt that both will result in an enjoyable escape from reality.

Like this post? Don’t forget to save it on Pinterest!

About Louisa Smith

Editor/Founder - Epic Book Society

Louisa is the Founder, Editor, and Head Honcho of Epic Book Society. She was born and raised in the United Kingdom and graduated from the University for the Creative Arts with a degree in Journalism. Louisa began her writing career at the age of 7 when her poetry was published in an anthology of poems to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. Upon graduating university, she spent several years working as a journalist writing about books before transitioning to become a Primary School Teacher. Louisa loves all genres of books, but her favorites are Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, and Young Adult Fiction. Read more Louisa's story here .

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Site Navigation

Affiliate Disclosure : This website uses affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission through purchases made through this site at no extra cost to you. Epic Book Society is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program Affiliate Program. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Join the Society!

Want to connect with other bookworms?

We've created a place where book lovers can come together and share recommendations and ideas with each other. There will be no spam from us, that's a promise .

Click the button below to join our exclusive Facebook group.

Contact Us: [email protected]

Follow our socials:

© 2023 Epic Book Society • Built with  GeneratePress

DEBATE TOPIC: Books are Better than Television ( Support and Oppose the motion)

Explore why the debate topic “Books are better than Television ” holds true with these 11 convincing reasons. Dive into the benefits of reading, learning, and engaging through books.

In a world dominated by technology and screens, the debate between books and television has taken center stage. Both mediums offer unique experiences, but when it comes to the enrichment of knowledge, imagination, and overall personal growth, books have an edge that television can’t quite match. The DEBATE TOPIC: Books are better than Television is a nuanced one, encompassing various aspects of learning, entertainment, and cognitive development.

The Power of Imagination and Creativity

One of the most compelling reasons that support the argument that books are better than television is the stimulation of imagination and creativity. When you read a book, your mind paints the scenes, characters, and settings using your own imagination. Unlike television, which presents visuals to you, books allow you to co-create the world within the pages, enhancing your creative faculties.

Learning Through Engagement

Free download now.

Books provide a deeper level of engagement compared to television. The act of reading requires focus and concentration, leading to better understanding and retention of information. Whether you’re exploring the intricate plot of a mystery novel or delving into the complexities of historical events, the engagement with the text facilitates a more profound learning experience.

Emotional Connection and Empathy

Characters in books often come to life through detailed descriptions and internal monologues. As a result, readers develop a strong emotional connection with them, experiencing their joys, sorrows, and struggles. This deepens emotional intelligence and fosters empathy, allowing readers to see the world from different perspectives, which television might not evoke as powerfully.

Quiet Reflection and Relaxation

Reading a book offers a peaceful escape from the noise and distractions of daily life. Unlike television, which bombards you with visuals and sounds, books provide a serene environment for quiet reflection and relaxation. Whether you’re reading by a cozy fireplace or lounging in a comfortable chair, books create a haven of tranquility.

Expanding Vocabulary and Language Skills

The written word is a treasure trove of language, introducing readers to new words, phrases, and sentence structures. Books expose readers to diverse vocabulary and linguistic styles, improving their language skills organically. This linguistic enrichment contributes to effective communication and cognitive growth.

DEBATE TOPIC: Books are Better than Television

In-depth exploration of topics.

Books offer the luxury of delving deeply into a subject matter. Whether it’s non-fiction or a historical novel, books provide comprehensive insights that television often struggles to deliver in its limited timeframe. This depth of exploration fosters a profound understanding of various topics.

Cognitive Development in Children

For young minds, books play a crucial role in cognitive development. Reading from an early age enhances language acquisition, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Unlike the passive nature of television, reading actively stimulates brain development in children.

Personalized Learning Journey

Every reader brings their unique background, experiences, and perspective to the act of reading. This personalized approach allows individuals to connect with books on a deeper level, making the learning journey more meaningful and impactful. Television, on the other hand, offers a one-size-fits-all experience.

Building Concentration and Patience

In a fast-paced digital world, cultivating concentration and patience is essential. Books require sustained attention over an extended period, training the mind to focus deeply. This practice in patience and concentration has far-reaching benefits beyond reading itself.

Emotional and Intellectual Satisfaction

Finishing a book brings a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that is unparalleled. The journey of following characters, understanding complex plots, and exploring new ideas culminates in a fulfilling experience that enriches both the emotional and intellectual realms.

FAQs: Books are Better than Television

Q: Can television offer the same level of detail as books? A: Television often condenses content for time constraints, while books can provide intricate details that contribute to a richer experience.

Q: Are there any cognitive benefits to reading books over watching television? A: Yes, reading enhances cognitive abilities such as critical thinking, comprehension, and vocabulary expansion.

Q: How does the emotional connection with book characters differ from television characters? A: Books allow readers to delve into characters’ thoughts and emotions, fostering a deeper emotional bond compared to television characters.

Q: Is reading more suitable for introverted individuals? A: Both introverts and extroverts can enjoy reading, as it offers a quiet escape and an opportunity for self-reflection.

Q: Can television be educational in the same way as books? A: While some television programs offer educational content, books generally provide a more comprehensive and in-depth learning experience.

Q: How does the experience of reading for pleasure compare to watching television for entertainment? A: Reading offers a focused and immersive experience that encourages mental engagement, while television provides passive entertainment.

In the ongoing debate of books versus television, it’s evident that books hold a unique and indispensable place in fostering imagination, learning, and personal growth. The act of reading, with its power to engage the mind and transport readers to different worlds, provides an experience that is enriching and enduring. While television has its own merits, the depth, personalization, and cognitive benefits of reading make books the preferred choice for those seeking intellectual and emotional fulfillment.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Persuasive Essay on The Importance of Reading

Reading is a big part of everyone's lives. It may seem boring sometimes but it is actually very important to read everyday. As you read this essay you will have a better understanding of why reading is important, how it can help with stress, anxiety and depression, and why it is a good way to pass time. 

Reading is important for health and learning. One thing reading can help with is sleep. Sleep is important for a person to get through the day. If they are getting 2-4 hours of sleep they might be lazy and tired throughout the day and they may not be able to do the things they need to do. “Reading exercises the mind without leaving you feeling antsy and energetic.” (Ecosa 2021). When reading you're not energetic and might feel more calm and tired so it will make you sleepy. Reading can also help academically. “Researchers have found that students who read books regularly, beginning at a young age, gradually develop large vocabularies.” (2021 Healthline media). This tells me that students that read books when they are young everyday develop a large vocabulary. 

In addition, reading is important because it can help with mental health(stress, anxiety and depression.) “The study found that 30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humor did.” (2021 Healthline media). As well as yoga and humor, reading for 30 minutes lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and helps with psychological distress(stress,anxiety,depression). A study from 2009 by the University of Sussex shows that reading can reduce up to 68% of stress. It works faster than doing activities like listening to music. In a study by the University of Liverpool, they surveyed around 4,000 adults and found that people who read regularly are less stressed, depressed and have more self-esteem. 

Reading is not only good for health and learning, it is also a good way to pass time. Reading is a good hobby not only because it helps with everything listed above, but it can be fun at the same time. Looking at devices all the time can be very harmful to an individual. It can increase the risk of having brain issues and the blue light from the screens can be very harmful for the eyes. “The more television you watch in your 40s, 50s, and 60s, the greater your risk of brain health issues in later years.” (2021 Healthline Media). The more TV a person watches from age 40-60 can increase the risk of having brain issues as they get older. “Reading helps us practice imagination by letting the words describe a certain image while the reader manipulates the picture in the mind.” (2021 World Literacy Foundation). Reading can help us use our imagination by letting us create a picture in our minds of what we are reading.

Reading can help an individual in many ways. From learning to being a good way to pass time it is better than watching a device all the time. People should be reading almost everyday even if it’s just for 20-30 minutes because it has so many benefits that are important for our lives. Like expanding vocabulary, helping with mental health and being a good way to spend your free time. These aren’t the only benefits of reading. There are so many more but these are some of the more important ones.

Related Samples

• Scholarship Application Letter Example
• What it means to be a good student
• The Benefits of Group Work in Learning Essay Example
• Narrative Essay Sample: My Goal in Education
• Essay Sample on Cursive Handwriting
• Essay Example about The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
• Why Cell Phones Shouldn't Be Allowed in School Persuasive Essay
• Mental Health in High School Essay Example
• Essay on The Benefits of Students Taking Time off After High School
• Personal Narrative Essay: My First Day of Preschool

Didn't find the perfect sample?

You can order a custom paper by our expert writers

Books vs. TV: How They Stack Up Against One Another

Writer at http://jumpstartyourdreamlife.com

There's a perception that books are good, while TV is bad. Spend a day curled up with a book and you're an intellectual, but spend a day watching your favorite show and you become a couch potato.

Similar to how candy gives you cavities and sun tanning is bad for our skin, it's common knowledge that reading books is good for you. It increases your knowledge and makes you think. Watching television on the other hand kills off brain cells.

But why is that? Why can't watching TV be just as educational as reading a book? For example, does watching the show Game of Thrones lower your intelligence, while reading the books does the exact opposite?

After all, there are all sorts of books. Some good, some poorly written. The same applies to shows as well. Is the situation as simple as categorizing books as good and TV as bad? What Science Says About Books and Television

In 2013, a study was performed at Tohoku University in Japan. A team led by Hiraku Takeuchi examined the effects of television on the brains of 276 children, along with amount of time spent watching TV and its long-term effects.

While there had been numerous studies in the past that showed how television affected children's verbal abilities and physical, mental and emotional development, there had yet to be a study on how brain development related to TV viewing.

Researcher Takeuchi found that the more TV the kids watched, parts of their brain associated with higher arousal and aggression levels became thicker. The frontal lobe also thickened, which is known to lower verbal reasoning ability.

The more hours of television the kids watched, the lower their verbal test results became. These negative effects in the brain happened regardless of the child's age, gender, and economic background.

In the same year, a study was done on how reading a novel affected the brain. Gregory Burns and his colleagues at Emory University wanted to see the before and after effects of reading based on fMRI readings.

College students were asked to read Pompeii by Robert Harriss , a thriller based on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy. The book was chosen due to its strong narration and a dramatic plot based on true events.

After reading the novel, the students had increased connectivity in parts of the brain that were related to language. There was also increased activity in the sensory motor region of the brain, suggesting that readers experienced similar sensations to the characters in the book.

There are also long-term effects from reading books. Reading keeps your mind alert and delays cognitive decline in elders. Research even found that Alzheimer's is 2.5 times less likely to appear in elderly people who read regularly, while TV was presented as a risk factor.

Six minutes of reading can reduce stress levels by 68 percent, according to researchers at the University of Sussex. Reading beat out other relaxing activities, including listening to music (61 percent), drinking tea or coffee (54 percent), and taking a walk (42 percent).

Why These Activities Have Opposite Effects on Us

So far, reading's looking pretty good compared to television. We can see that it calms the nerves, increases language and reasoning, and can even keep you mentally alert as you age. TV, on the other hand, has the opposite effect.

But we still haven't gotten to why that's the case.

Let's look first at a study on how preschoolers and toddlers interact with their mothers during TV viewing versus reading a book.

The results found that watching TV resulted in lower amounts and quality of communication between the mother and child. During an educational TV program, mothers made few comments to their children, and if they did, it was unrelated to what their children said.

On the other hand, reading books together increased the amount and level of communication. Mothers were more likely to ask their child questions, respond to their child's statements and questions, and explain concepts in greater detail.

Beyond mothers and their children, it's not just an issue of the quality of the TV program or the book. It seems that the nature of the activities themselves is what's causing the differences.

Television is designed to be passive. After switching to the show you like, you can just sit back and watch everything unfold without effort on your part. You're less likely to pause to reflect on what's happening.

TV also presents ideas and characters on a surface level. Shows don't have the luxury of describing or explaining situations in great detail, since they need to keep viewers visually entertained. TV programs are fast-paced in order to keep people from switching.

Books, on the other hand, are a more proactive form of entertainment and learning. The reader has to concentrate on what's being said and to think through concepts in the book. When we read, we're forced to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps.

Books also have the advantage of being able to describe everything in greater depth. While television is mostly composed of dialogue between characters, books can walk readers through scenes, characters' thoughts, and provide lengthier commentary.

So now that we've seen the benefits of reading, how can we fit more of it into our lives?

Break Away From Your Environment

If you're glued to the television set constantly, it's largely because of the environment that that you're in. Surround yourself with people who talk about TV shows, and you'll be more likely to watch them yourself. Place yourself within arm's reach of a remote, and it becomes easier to watch TV. Flip on the switch as soon as you get home, then it becomes a habit.

So how can you go from watching TV to reading something that will help you grow as a person?

The first thing you can do to break the habit is to change your environment. Being in the same environment for a long time encourages you to keep doing the same things. But go to a completely new place, and you immediately drop your habits .

For instance, if you travel somewhere, you immediately have to adapt and create different habits. You're exposed to a different way of life, and your everyday activities change drastically. Your TV watching habit can easily go from 5 hours a day to zero when you're in a new environment.

While it might not be feasible to move somewhere new, you can take a brief vacation from your routine. Taking a break and traveling gives you a different perspective on everyday life, and it also forces you to develop new routines. When you return home, you can start fresh on your habits.

You can also break away from your environment by re-arranging your current space. Using the concept of environmental cues , I recommend setting up your office and entertainment space so that it's easier to pick up productive activities.

Choose the Right Books

The next thing you can do is pick the books that will give you the most value out of your time. If you have a choice between an e-book and a paper book, choose the latter.

Here are a few reasons why paper books are better:

• Readers who use paper books have an easier time remembering the content than tablet readers. Traditional books provide a sense of progress as readers flip through the pages, along with greater immersion (i.e., you can't click away from your book), which is key to absorbing information.
• Light from e-readers interferes with sleeping patterns, while paper books actually help you sleep better .
• Using electronic devices such as e-readers is linked to higher stress and depression levels. Traditional books, on the other hand, help reduce stress .

If you're not sure when to fit in some reading, try setting aside time in the morning or evenings.

For myself, I like to dedicate half an hour before bed to read a book. It's not a big chunk of time, and it also helps me wind down before it's time to sleep.

During the day, I often bring a book with me when I head out in case I need to wait or have a moment to spare.

If you're stuck on what to read, you can try going through my book list and seeing what interests you. I have found that reading a good book helps me to de-stress and gives me new ideas for improving myself.

If books bring back dreary memories of mandatory reading in school, try picking a book on a topic that interests you. I think you'll find that reading rewards your personal growth in ways that television can't replace.

Let's Connect

If you enjoyed reading this article, please join the newsletter . As thanks, I'll send over a copy of my popular guide, How to Get Anything You Want .

This post was originally published on JumpstartYourDreamLife.com .

Melissa Chu writes at JumpstartYourDreamLife.com , where she helps people live better and achieve their goals. For more ideas on success and making an impact, join the newsletter .

Popular in the Community

From our partner, huffpost shopping’s best finds, more in life.

Reading vs Watching: Which is Better Scientifically?

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. – meaning I may get a commission if you decide to purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you.

Some people prefer to learn and increase their knowledge while reading, while others learn faster with visuals such as images and videos! As reading and watching are two different ways of receiving information, the question arises what are the differences between them and which is better for learning – reading or watching?

For most students reading is better than watching when you have to remember many facts and small detail. You are more focused on what you are reading than on what you are watching but If you start with a new subject or topic it can be effective to first watch a relevant video.

For ages books were, apart from vocal traditions, the only medium where you could capture and/or find information and literature.  Nowadays, TV and videos are in principle providing the same.

But despite differences between reading and watching may not necessarily be better than the other. It is a matter of which is best in a specific situation.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the aspects that both reading and watching-enthusiasts often use to “proof” that one medium is better than the other.  We’ll look at whether there are differences and if so, what are their influence on each of the two mediums.

Key Differences Between Reading and Watching

Let’s look at some aspects where there are key differences between reading and watching and find out whether there is an answer to the question of which is better – reading or watching?

1. Brain Activity

It is a known fact that reading impacts your brain . In fact, both reading and watching cause brain activity. The difference is that reading stimulates other areas of the brain than watching.

This was discovered by researchers using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans.

Impact of Reading on the Brain Activity

Researchers at Emory University used fMRI scans and conducted important studies on how the brain reacts when one reads a book.

The studies detected heightened connectivity in the left temporal cortex and the central sulcus of the brain. These areas are associated with language receptivity, sensation and movement, symbol recognition, sounds, and spoken language . 

In short, a large part of your brain stays active when reading, and the brain receives a “workout” every time you read a book.

A study conducted by the American Academy of Neurology has indicated that frequent reading has a long-term effect and can lower mental decline by 32 percent.

Impact of Learning Through Video on the Brain Activity

Many people think that, unlike reading, watching a video doesn’t cause a lot of brain activity. They consider it a relaxing activity and assume that the brain “switches off” when one watches a video. 

This is not true. In an interview, Joy Hirsch, the Director of fMRI Research at Columbia University Medical Center , indicated that the human brain is also very active when one is watching television or a video.  

She has used fMRI scans and has found that, just as with reading, the brain uses complex and coordinated activities to follow the storyline of a video.

The brain activity in the right hemisphere is enhanced when watching videos. This is the area involved with  emotional responses and might explain why we become so emotionally invested in the fictional life of video characters. 

The short-term memory areas are also activated because you have to remember what had just happened in the video sequence and connect it with what is currently happening. 

Thus, although reading and watching use and activate different parts of the brain they both give your brain “workouts.”

Many researchers are of the opinion that the brain’s activity differences don’t make either reading or watching necessarily the better.

It depends on what input you need from your book or video. In many instances, reading and watching are complementing each other. The ideal would be that one reads and watches to get a balanced stimulation and enhancement of the brain.

  2. Imagination

Reading stories in books and watching stories on video both enhance your brain’s imagination capacity. But independent researchers have concluded that reading is contributing much more than watching videos.   

I have previously written a detailed article on how reading affects your imagination !

When you are reading fiction you are continuously imagining how the plot is developing and what the imaginary world and circumstances created in the story look like. This “exercise” teaches your mind to imagine things in real life as well and makes you creative.  

When you watch a story on video or TV there is a lesser need to imagine the scenarios. They are visually provided for you. As you don’t have to create pictures in your mind your brain doesn’t get the same “training” as with reading. 

3. Knowledge Gained

Both reading and watching videos can help increase your knowledge. In fact, reading regularly is known to make you a smarter person !

An interesting study by a professor of linguistics regarding the role of videos in learning was reported in an article in “ Brittanica.com .” According to this article, students prefer to read their study material in books rather than watching it on video.

One of the main reasons, according to researchers, is the ideas people have about books and videos. 

Books are still considered more accurate and objective than videos, and many people approach videos with an entertainment mindset. People also tend to multitask while watching video content and could miss important bits of information.  

The research results showed that students who had studied from printed books were more knowledgeable about the topic than those who only watched videos on the subject.

But on the other hand, videos are time efficient and a very convenient option. For students who are struggling with reading, watching videos related to the study topic is a good alternative.  

It is better to get your general knowledge and study information from printed books, but for people who don’t like reading, watching videos offers a good alternative. Some students use both mediums and first look at videos to get an overview of the topic, and then study in detail from printed material.

4. Memory Retention

Studies regarding the percentage of information we retain are given below:  

When you only read the material silently, you will according to these studies, have a 10% retention. If you read aloud, in other words, you see and hear, the retention can be up to 50%.

And if you add the habit of writing notes when you read aloud, the retention percentage can be as high as 70% because you’ve read, heard, and written the material.

But studies showed that few people, including students, do more than only just read books.  Therefore the retention from reading is generally accepted to be between 10% and 50%.

To watch a video the “see and hear” activities are combined. Therefore you will also have a percentage rate of up to 50% when watching a video. 

5. Return on Investment of Time

With storybooks, it always takes longer to read the book than to watch the story on video. The reason is obvious. The story on the video doesn’t have all the detail and nuances as the original book. So when you have limited time to get the basic story, watching the video might be the solution.

Although it takes longer to read a book, the enjoyment of reading a good novel cannot be equaled by a video. If time is not a factor the longer time needed to read a book is worthwhile.  

6. Calories Burned

You may be surprised to know that reading burns calories as does watching videos! That is a fact because every activity you engage in burns calories. It doesn’t matter whether it is a physical or mental activity. 

Unfortunately, according to Marcus Raichle , neurologist, and professor of neurobiology at Washington University in St Louis the calories burnt by reading or watching videos are not enough to cause any weight loss.

Although there is a difference in the number of calories burnt when you are reading or watching, the difference is actually insignificantly small and does not influence weight loss.     

You burn more calories when you are reading a book than when you are watching videos or TV. On average you’ll burn 150 calories when you read for 1 hour and 45 minutes. To burn the same amount of calories only by watching TV or videos, you’ll have to watch for about 2 hours and 30 minutes. 

When you watch scary movies you burn more calories than when you watch comedies or novels. By watching a scary movie you burn the calorific equivalent of a small chocolate bar, according to a study by researchers at the University of Westminster.

If you watch a 90-minute horror film you can burn up to 113 calories.

According to an article in “ The Guardian ,” some movies are more effective than others. A study showed that the calories burnt by viewers of the Stanley Kubrick chiller “ The Shining ” lost on average 184 calories. The viewers of “ Jaws ” lost 161 calories and viewers of “ The Exorcist ” 158.

Interesting, you will burn 150 calories if you sleep for 2 hours 30 minutes. 

7. Stress Released

According to an article in “Time.com “, some research has shown that watching TV or videos can let you relax, as it provides a momentary escape from whatever stresses you have. 

In the right circumstances, television can also help to recharge your brain and cause stress-release. Studies reported in the journal “Social Psychology and Personality Science ,” have found that re-watching old favorites can give people a mental boost.

When you re-watch an old favorite you’re among familiar, characters and know what’s going to happen. You feel “safe” and you can relax while watching the video.

However, other researchers have found that very busy people feel guilty about spending time in front of the TV. For them, it is stressful to watch TV or videos.

Reading is a very good stress releaser. When you read your book you are “transferred” to another world and all your real-life stress is forgotten. 

It is also easier to find a reading place that contributes to a relaxed environment, than a watching place. You can relax with a book on the beach, in a park or in a beautiful corner of your garden. 

8. Impact on Focus

Researchers and psychologists have proved that reading enhances your focus abilities, attention span, concentration, and memory.

When you read, you focus on the words on the page and you learn to block out all interferences. You are busy with only one activity – reading. Your reading skill also trains your brain to focus on one thing alone in real life as well. 

Studies have shown that many people find it difficult to focus on a TV program or video they are watching. This is because you are actively trying to do one thing but your mind is subconsciously “at work” on something else. 

It is easier for your mind to get involved with other things when watching videos as the video keeps on playing. When you read you are so focused that your mind can’t “wander off.” 

9. Eyesight Damage  Whilst Reading v. Watching

Reading rarely leads to permanent eye damage. It is, however, accepted by ophthalmologists that reading can put a strain on the eyes and this can cause symptoms like dry eyes. Reading can also cause headaches !

I have previously written a detailed article on how reading affects your eyes where I provide tips on how to identify the negative impact of reading on your eyes. Plus, I have also provided relevant solutions to fix this issue. Make sure you check it out!

Fortunately, these symptoms are mostly only temporary.  However, things like reading in direct sunlight and HEV light from some digital devices can cause more permanent damage. Reading in dim light can cause eye strain but studies have confirmed that this will not permanently affect your eyesight .  

When watching TV or videos you can get digital eye strain, also known as Computer Vision Syndrome , but fortunately, it is also not permanent damage. In a 2010 issue of “Scientific American,” a group of ophthalmologists stated television “won’t cause any physical damage to your eyes.” 

Studies have shown that eye strain develops quicker when watching TV or videos than when reading a book.

So, Which is Better: Reading or Watching?

To a great extent, your personal preference will determine whether you do more watching than reading or vice versa. From what we’ve discussed above it is clear that although there are differences between reading and watching, both activities can be good for a person.  

Reading enhances certain brain activities, while watching is stimulating other regions of the brain. Sometimes you only have time to watch a story on video, and other times you enjoy reading the original book and getting involved in all the nuances and intrigues of the characters and plot. 

Many researchers are of the opinion that both reading and watching should be done in a balanced way by everyone. There are, however, aspects concerning studying where it is better to read, but also aspects where it is better to watch a video. 

For most students reading is better than watching when you have to remember many facts and small detail. You are more focused on what you are reading than on what you are watching and thus you have good content retention over a longer period if you’ve read the material.

If you start with a new subject or topic it can be effective to first watch a relevant video. When you have to study a novel, for instance, it can be a good idea to first watch the story in its video version to get an overview of the story and characters. It is then easier to follow the story when you read the book. 

A video is also useful when you revise work or a book that you’ve already read. The video normally emphasizes the main points.  

About the Author

Akansha is a former business journalist and a seasoned communications professional. She is the founder of TheBookBuff, an avid storyteller, and a lifelong biblophile! Check out her profile page to know more about Akansha .

Similar Posts

Kindle vs Tablet: Which One Should You Buy for Reading?

When you are considering buying a Kindle, one thing that will cross your mind is – doesn’t it…

Is An Audiobook Faster Than Reading? [Here’s the Truth!]

With more and more fiction and non-fiction audiobooks available to listen to, the question arises whether an audiobook…

How to View Your Kindle Book Purchase History?

We love for things to be simplified and straightforward. Whether you have doubts regarding your ebook purchases or…

Difference Between Kindle and Tablet? [Complete Guide!]

When planning to buy a gadget primarily for reading purposes, it is easy to get confused between a…

What is the Best Position to Read a Book? [Helpful Guide!]

If you are a book nerd like me, it is easy for you to spend hours at a…

7 Mind-Blowing Facts About Reading! [You Will LOVE These!]

I’m always fascinated with facts! As an avid reader, I’ve always wondered about some really interesting and curious…

What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez | TheBookBuff Review

The Real Herge by Sian Lye | TheBookBuff Review

Affiliate Disclaimer: As an Amazon affiliate, we earn money from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.

Contact Details -

Email ID - [email protected] Address - OwlScape Design Services, 6th Floor, Ackruti Trade Centre, M.I.D.C, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400093, India Phone - +91 99679 54442

© 2024  TheBookBuff