Tag: technology

Reading Is Not Dead (Yet)

Can reading books make a comeback?

U.S. daily book reading for pleasure is steadily declining (40% drop from 2003-2023). A National Endowment for the Arts research lab at University of Florida teamed with University College London researchers to analyze data from 236,000+ Americans who completed the American Time Use Study.

The dearth of pleasure reading does not reflect all groups; people with higher educational levels and women are more likely readers. Unfortunately, reader-less homes where reading for pleasure could support mental health, creativity and lifelong reading are those in lower income or educational realization and rural (versus metropolitan) areas. One might argue that these folks often have two jobs to make ends meet and reading time is a luxury that is not sustainable.

March is National Reading Month. The intent is to encourage daily reading habits to promote literacy as well as nurture reading habits in both children and adults. A focus set by Read Across America Week (March 2–6), was “Champion Kindness,” a goal much needed today. Helping children read diverse books can foster empathy along with developing a love for broad-ranging literature.

One reason March is a special reading month is due to honoring of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2nd. Much-loved Dr. Suess books, with their quirky illustrations and humorous storytelling, remain favorite choices for parents who read books to their children at bedtime. His Grinch character provides food for thought for both parents and kids. Dr. Suess was right when he said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.”

While many blame our digital-relying habits for a reading downfall, British author and technology guru Kevin Ashton maintains that technology is not to blame. He reminds, “What’s on their phones is words…go look at [a]…TikTok video…There are captions that help it make more sense when they’re communicating with one another. They’re sending text messages. Children today are writing more words than you or I did when we were teenagers.”

Yes, “words” are present in technology, but I think the technology vs. reading-books issue needs more discussion among educators and mental health providers. When there is a winning lawsuit against Meta and Google, blaming social media for the anxiety and depression of a woman who claims addiction to social media as a youngster, the impact of digital wording matters. What safeguards are present for tender minds in developing healthy perceptions about their belonging in a fast-paced society? Who moderates digital mediums for kids?

Ashton had thoughts about storytelling for decades before writing his book, The Story of Stories: The Million-Year History of a Uniquely Human Art. He suggests that it is emotional storytelling that readers seek. Yes, emotions are complex parts of us and stories help us gain perspectives about emotional territory. Along with diverse book-reading, I believe we need more in-person communication in sharing emotions in homes and schools.

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

484. What is the last book you read?

485. Were there any emotional insights from reading that book?  

Communicate Perils or Pearls

Jitish Kallat, Public Notice 3 (The words communicate 2 historical moments: A speech by social reformer Swami Vivekananda on 9-11-1893 and the terrorist attacks on 9-11-2001), Art Institute of Chicago

In an interview with psychologist Jill Suttie, journalist Nicholas Carr details social media history and its variable effects upon the public. The telegraph and telephone arrived in the 1800’s. The first commercial radio station followed in 1920. As a wireless telegraph, radios provided Morse codes to ships and lighthouses where wires could not reach. Then came an onslaught of radio news, music, and perhaps most important – opinions that dominated the one-size-fits-all airwaves for mass consumption. Some complained that radio was “dumbing down the population.” A dangerous force of radio’s power was when German Nazis took over radio stations in the 1930’s and communicated their propaganda.

Carr makes the argument in his book, Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart, that more efficient communication does not equate with better communication. He refers to research that suggests that learning more about other people does not lead to liking them more or even understanding them more. In fact, finding out the various ways that another person is different from one’s self-perception can lead to disliking that person. Simply put, people tend to focus on differences more than similarities and we dislike “the other” who is “different.”

Currently our online lives can overwhelm us with massive amounts of information which we filter through our existing biases. Another problematic issue is that folks are addicted to social media. Carr states it well: “We’re not being manipulated to act in opposition to our desires. We’re being given what we want in quantities so generous, we can’t resist gorging ourselves.”

Social media outlet algorithms find what we use regularly and then load us with similar topics. With the oncoming AI locomotive barreling down media tracks, who can escape this runaway train? AI offers virtual “companions.” Is this communication or manipulation?

A sidecar in social media is the “Influencer.” The definition of an Influencer is an individual who is able to generate interest in something by posting about it on social media. Initially an Influencer was a celebrity (think Elon Musk who was, or still is, an Influencer of the U.S. President), but today’s Influencers can be anyone with a large following on social media. This is enough content about communication perils.

Where are the communication pearls? Communication skills are key in relationships, careers, and world diplomacy. We simply must teach children effective communication and problem-solving skills. Early in my career I was part of a small group of psychologists teaching Myrna Shure and collaborator George Spivak’s Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving, later renamed I Can Problem Solve (ICPS). I worked with Myrna at Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital (Philadelphia) and her 8-week curriculum for students from preschool to 6th grade. ICPS engages both teachers and parents in training children on how to think and communicate with an understanding of alternatives. Much communication requires alternative problem-solving steps.

Who teaches adult versions of I Can Problem Solve?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

403. Who are your social media Influencers? ‘

404. What communication skills do you use daily?