The author advocates "Read books instead of scrolling social media feeds," but it seems to me that reading novels is also a good way to pass the time? Hours can go by without really noticing. And...
The author advocates "Read books instead of scrolling social media feeds," but it seems to me that reading novels is also a good way to pass the time? Hours can go by without really noticing.
And you can certainly spend lots of time playing video games as well?
But books feel different, don't they? After spending a few hours scrolling through YouTube shorts, I feel drained and numb. Yet, I do it every day. It's like a drug to me - it makes me feel bad,...
But books feel different, don't they? After spending a few hours scrolling through YouTube shorts, I feel drained and numb. Yet, I do it every day. It's like a drug to me - it makes me feel bad, but I can't resist it. It is not "a good way to pass the time" for me (you might be different, I am not judging). I don't want to do this with my life.
Books never made me feel that way. I was a voracious reader when I was a kid and all the way through college - that was before the internet was widely accessible. I loved books. It feels like they made my life richer.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I got back to reading when we had to move my parents to a wheelchair-accessible apartment that is a lot smaller than the apartment where we grew up. I moved a lot of the books from there to my apartment and started re-reading some of my old books, mostly out of nostalgia. Then, some of my parents' books I have not read before. I still use my phone a lot. But now I can see the difference. There are true gems on YouTube - things like this channel - exactly my kind of humor, and it feels like something fun and original, done with love, artistic even. But the experience of YouTube as a whole is net negative. It really is like gaming for me - sometimes I win, and that keeps me playing, but when you zoom out and see the whole picture, I am just a gambler. The casino comparison in the article I linked does ring true to me.
I was also a voracious reader as a kid, and much like YouTube videos, I feel like there's both the edifying kind and the unedifying ones that just eat away your time without adding anything of...
I was also a voracious reader as a kid, and much like YouTube videos, I feel like there's both the edifying kind and the unedifying ones that just eat away your time without adding anything of value. I do think it is harder to read books than it is to watch a YouTube video, which means that I'm less likely to get trapped in a "book hole" like I might get trapped in a YouTube hole, but I think in both cases what's needed is discernment.
For YouTube, I simply blocked YouTube Shorts entirely (I think via a ublock query I found somewhere). The edifying/draining ratio is just too low that I do not want to see those videos ever. For the rest of YouTube, I try and notice how I feel after having watched a video. If I'm not really making it to the end, or at the end of it I just feel a bit dull, then I know not to watch more of those sorts of videos. In some cases I've unsubscribed from channels or even blocked them on YouTube to keep my feed a bit cleaner with videos I'm actually enjoying.
They also argue that novel have "sharp angles" where it's easy to leave (chapters or just the end of the book) whereas tiktok/shorts are infinite streams with minimal interruption between content....
They also argue that novel have "sharp angles" where it's easy to leave (chapters or just the end of the book) whereas tiktok/shorts are infinite streams with minimal interruption between content.
As for video-game, it depends on the type? Some of them are organized like novel, other have more of this infinite-with-minimal-interruption-quality (Flip flop Solitaire and Threes are this for me, whereas I can more easily easily break of Nonogram Katana once I've finished my daily 15x15).
The author advocates "Read books instead of scrolling social media feeds," but it seems to me that reading novels is also a good way to pass the time? Hours can go by without really noticing.
And you can certainly spend lots of time playing video games as well?
But books feel different, don't they? After spending a few hours scrolling through YouTube shorts, I feel drained and numb. Yet, I do it every day. It's like a drug to me - it makes me feel bad, but I can't resist it. It is not "a good way to pass the time" for me (you might be different, I am not judging). I don't want to do this with my life.
Books never made me feel that way. I was a voracious reader when I was a kid and all the way through college - that was before the internet was widely accessible. I loved books. It feels like they made my life richer.
I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I got back to reading when we had to move my parents to a wheelchair-accessible apartment that is a lot smaller than the apartment where we grew up. I moved a lot of the books from there to my apartment and started re-reading some of my old books, mostly out of nostalgia. Then, some of my parents' books I have not read before. I still use my phone a lot. But now I can see the difference. There are true gems on YouTube - things like this channel - exactly my kind of humor, and it feels like something fun and original, done with love, artistic even. But the experience of YouTube as a whole is net negative. It really is like gaming for me - sometimes I win, and that keeps me playing, but when you zoom out and see the whole picture, I am just a gambler. The casino comparison in the article I linked does ring true to me.
I was also a voracious reader as a kid, and much like YouTube videos, I feel like there's both the edifying kind and the unedifying ones that just eat away your time without adding anything of value. I do think it is harder to read books than it is to watch a YouTube video, which means that I'm less likely to get trapped in a "book hole" like I might get trapped in a YouTube hole, but I think in both cases what's needed is discernment.
For YouTube, I simply blocked YouTube Shorts entirely (I think via a ublock query I found somewhere). The edifying/draining ratio is just too low that I do not want to see those videos ever. For the rest of YouTube, I try and notice how I feel after having watched a video. If I'm not really making it to the end, or at the end of it I just feel a bit dull, then I know not to watch more of those sorts of videos. In some cases I've unsubscribed from channels or even blocked them on YouTube to keep my feed a bit cleaner with videos I'm actually enjoying.
By definition, everything you do the time passes while doing. The difference is the quality of the activity and how it makes you feel.
They also argue that novel have "sharp angles" where it's easy to leave (chapters or just the end of the book) whereas tiktok/shorts are infinite streams with minimal interruption between content.
As for video-game, it depends on the type? Some of them are organized like novel, other have more of this infinite-with-minimal-interruption-quality (Flip flop Solitaire and Threes are this for me, whereas I can more easily easily break of Nonogram Katana once I've finished my daily 15x15).
I've enjoyed Subnautica, particularly since I began playing it in Hard mode. Each death is a particularly acute angle!
Not 'also'. Books are a good way to pass the time. Doomscrolling is a bad way.