In a digital world, reading printed media has become more important than ever
As we increasingly succumb to the temptations of touchscreens and AI, do we risk creating a generation with its head in the cloud? Thankfully there’s a solution: the printed page.
There is little that has shaped the West more than popular literacy. The fall in reading skills poses no less of a threat than the decline of our knowledge-based civilisation. Studies have long shown that reading activity, especially among younger people, is steadily decreasing. According to a recent report in The Guardian, children’s enthusiasm for reading has sunk to an all-time low in the UK. There has been plenty of discussion on social media and in other publications – including Switzerland’s NZZ newspaper – about how dire this finding really is. But there have also been prominent intellectuals attempting to counter the alarmism. Among them is UK zoologist and author Matt Ridley, who argues that writing is simply being replaced by audio and video, and other skills are being developed.
Are audio and video equivalent to the written word – and, if so, in what way? You can listen to a crime novel as an audiobook; a physics textbook, however, is a different proposition. But why learn physics at all these days, when you can simply ask artificial intelligence for answers? Is the acquisition of in-depth and comprehensive knowledge – the main purpose of reading – still necessary? Why bother trying to hold in your mind what you already have in your hand on a digital silver platter? Well, to rely solely on such devices would be a mistake that couldn’t be more fundamental.
Use your brain
If we want to evolve as intellectual and cultural beings – and retain autonomy and control – we must have knowledge in our heads, not least to be able to properly question, evaluate and regulate what AI provides. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe gave us the decisive argument long ago: “One only sees what one knows.” And you can only enjoy what you see or sense. While the wine novice can discern just a few aspects of taste, the sommelier has hundreds of terms at their disposal and their instruction will help the novice to perceive more about what’s in their glass.
Perception and knowledge always develop in interaction. The abstract knowledge that we acquire can shorten our path to an enriched experience, diversifying and intensifying our engagement with the sensory world. The apparent richness of the external world is in reality the richness of our inner world. Think of an exhibition: only those with knowledge of cultural history can fully comprehend the wealth of associations that it offers.
The reliability of printed information
Fulfilment and happiness in life have a lot to do with knowledge. One thing is essential for humans as spiritual beings: the acquisition of information and ideas, and their internal organisation into conceptual models of the world. This process can be broken down into two steps. First, we must memorise the building blocks of knowledge. Second, we must internally organise these into complex and coherent models. The first step requires effective ways to “imprint” it all in our minds, including repetition; the second requires time for processing and leisure for playful reflection.
The best way to acquire such inner wealth is to read paper books. Their stable form makes it simpler to learn things. You’ll always find a certain piece of information in the same place, instead of in a variety of locations, depending on format and advertising; you might remember that what you are looking for is at the top of the right-hand page near the end of the book. And there you will spot it, especially if it has been underlined. All of this is considerably more difficult with digital books.
Our understanding of a text is enhanced by making handwritten notes, underlining important sections and so on. Studies have shown that multisensory learning that incorporates handwriting is particularly effective and also has advantages over typing. Digital devices offer a host of distractions, while analogue reading helps us to get a firmer hold on a text’s content. Even the mere presence of an inactive digital device has been found to reduce students’ concentration.
Video and audio formats can be valuable additions to knowledge transfer in terms of multi-sensory learning. But they are unsuitable on their own when it comes to tackling demanding content. First, the fleeting nature of these formats reduces how memorable their message is. Above all, it’s the temporal control over the flow of information that gets in the way. When we are reading, we can pause at any time, reflect and reread a sentence or paragraph. This is essential for the internal organisation of complex knowledge. Pausing and replaying videos or podcasts, on the other hand, is so fiddly that it is not done nearly as often as necessary. That’s why reading remains essential for education.
Intelligence is already in decline
Even the educated middle class today is little aware of the revolutionary impact that reading has had on cultural and social development. Harvard anthropologist Joseph Henrich explores these themes in his important 2020 book, The Weirdest People in the World. Here, he shows that widespread literacy was the decisive factor that led to the development of a special set of psychological abilities. These include abstract-analytical thinking, increased self-discipline, the desire to understand yourself as an individual and the impulse to further develop your personal skills, as well as the ability to become part of institutions that function according to abstract, impersonal rules. This was the breeding ground on which the scientific and industrial revolution began to flourish, from which our modern, liberal-democratic and affluent societies grew.
Just as intensive bodybuilding visibly changes the physique and makes it more efficient, intensive reading strengthens the mind and demonstrably alters the brain. Among other things, it leads to changes in the prefrontal cortex, particularly in the area of the language centres, and to a thickening of the corpus callosum, which connects both hemispheres of the brain. It’s probably more than a matter of correlation if, in parallel to a drop in quantitative reading activity, the ability to understand the content of complex texts declines. Contrary to the trend of previous decades, the IQ of the average population is now beginning to stagnate or even fall – the inverse of the long-celebrated Flynn effect.
Reading culture is the pillar of Western civilisation. Do we really want to test how stable our way of life will remain once it has been removed? Humans are analogue creatures. We can neither digitise our reproduction nor the core processes of our self-education. It’s important to preserve reading culture and limit digitalisation in schools. We must continue to teach in the old-fashioned way: with paper and pen.
About the writer:
Dietmar Hansch is a physician, psychotherapist and publicist. A version of this article was originally published in German-language newspaper NZZ. Translation by Monocle.
