Copy of Reading...For the Fun of It, Matters More Than You Think!
- TLALOCO
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Do you remember the first book you ever read, or that was read to you by a parent or a family member?
Maybe a Dr. Seuss book, requerdas, the oldie but goodie; The Cat in the Hat? Or maybe a more recent one, like the 1992 hit, Too Many Tamales?
Tu sabes, most of us literary geniuses began our reading journey looking at pictures. Or even better, we were amazed when the book opened up, it would suddenly grow into a tree or castle before our eyes.
But did we really understand the content or message as children?
Of course not, fool! Sure, your mama or papa wanted to begin educating you, but let's be honest...It was mostly to distract us from making noise and tearing the house apart.
It worked for a little while. Eventually, all you traviesos (rascals) would get bored and run amok. Part of the daily cycle of la vida loca...for all familias!
Despite the reading-lesson drama, there was a positive outcome from those early days of reading with parents. Researchers have found that reading for fun at an early age is more closely correlated with future success than any other factor.
Even more than family background, wealth, schooling, or peer group influences. Sure, the homies have some influence, but the homie who starts reading at an early age knows better than to follow the crowd. PuroChisme, No. ¡Es la verdad!
Regularly reading for pleasure has been scientifically proven to improve mental well-being, increase empathy, increase confidence, increase communication literacy, and add protection against early dementia. No, ese, porn doesn't count!
In fact, research has shown that early "fun reading" improves socio-economic status (SES) as children age and continue to embrace reading for fun.
Among the different roles, parents, Tia/Tio's, older sister or brother, and abuelos practice with children; the most important duties are those of a book whisperer - igniting the inner reader of every child.
Given the link between reading for pleasure and life attainment, this should not be some optional extra, some nicety, but a core purpose of everyone connected to a child.
The two main strategies are reading aloud – usually during the end-of-day class story – and the careful, skillful encouragement of reading at home. A great parent/teacher relationship helps nurture the reading bug, but has been challenged the past twenty years by the most dangerous enemy of human intellectual growth. Artificial Intelligence (A.I.).
In today's world of A.I. generated social media - the brutal recipe of inputs (data), with specific rules, and outputs (results or decisions) - Reading has become the first victim.
Right now, fewer children than ever are reading for pleasure. The percentage fell from 53% in 2012 to 39% in 2022 over a 10-year span, according to a study by the National Endowment for the Arts. This mirrors data from the National Center for Education Statistics and from around the world. Levels of reading for pleasure among children were steady across all reports until 2011, when they began to decline sharply.
It’s probably no coincidence that 2011-12 was when smartphone adoption became prevalent in the U.S., with almost half of the adult population owning a smartphone by the end of 2012 and two-thirds by 2015.
Unfortunately, the decline in reading for pleasure is proportional to the number of hours spent on smartphones.
Roughly 5 hours a day for an average American, with younger adults clocking in around 7 hours. That's right and we haven't even discussed television viewing time yet! The science behind A.I. algorithms that create addictive phone use is solid.
The pleasure chemical - dopamine - is produced by our brains, which plays a starring role in motivating behavior. It is released when we take a bite of delicious food, have sex, exercise, and when we have successful social interactions.
What neuroscientists call the "reward prediction error." Every notification, text, and social media 'like' provides an unpredictable reward, which trains your brain to constantly seek out your device for more reward 'likes'.
Smartphones have provided us with a virtually unlimited supply of social stimuli, both positive and negative. Every notification, whether it’s a text message, a 'like' on Instagram, or a Facebook notification, has the potential to be a positive social stimulus and provides an instant dopamine rush.
The attraction to smartphones is not coincidental...it's by design. What is precisely why in Asian countries, the prevailing government trend focuses on restricting or banning smartphone usage during school. The effort is to curb distractions and protect mental health of youth. But in America, there are no federal government supported restrictions on smartphone use among students. Fun in reading has turned to dumb fun on the smartphone.
Even the name - smartphone - is a lie. There is nothing smart about our cellular demon phones.
A study in 2025 of more than 200,000 Americans found that the recent declines in reading for pleasure were steeper among Black Americans, lower-income groups, people with less education, and those in rural areas. The decline in boys' and men's reading for fun was also steeper than that for girls and women.
Don't be fooled by the bright, addictive screen images and stories.
They are meant to attract you and keep you looking. Don't believe us? Pues, track your own time and you'll see the hours fly away.
Instead, you are asked to stare, laugh, and form an opinion on topics and/or issues that have been selected by A.I. using your own data profile copied from all media sources that you use. We are attracted to what we already use so the addiction is reinforced. A circular web of distraction created just for us.
Why can't we read more and learn new ideas to help us in school or at work? Because it's easier to be a Zombie and have artificial intelligence tell us what to think, see, and hear.
So what is the remedy? It's so easy but really hard...Make time to read. Schedule yourself time to read every week and stick to it! Because every moment off your phone is an invitation to create your own story, music, poem, art, or project...just for the fun of it!
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