Benefits of Reading

Samantha Humphrey

March 19, 2015

BBH 101

Self- Modification Project

The Benefits of Replacing Television with Books

“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us”, wrote Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451, a novel ironically about the burning and eliminating of all books. People sometimes say “I don’t like to read”, which is roughly translated to “I am fine with being mediocre.” It is unfathomable that in a world where people can have a whole library of books at their fingertips approximately 25% of the adult population does not read a single book each year, according to an Associated Press poll. Furthermore, Nielsen's latest Television Audience Report revealed that the average American household owns about three televisions, making it easy to see how the mass television audience can overshadow the advantages of reading. Although I am not personally part of the 25% that does not read a single book each year, I am guilty of television binging when I could be doing more constructive tasks. To keep myself from falling into a sedentary lifestyle of mind-numbing television watching, I have decided to cut television out as much as possible and replace it with reading or other activities that keep my brain and the rest of my body healthy.

In a world overcome by technology, people find it hard to put down the remote control or iPhone long enough to read a couple chapters of a book. Yet the research conducted through the years continues to show significant benefits to reading rather than watching television, even educational viewing. Unlike television, there are countless advantages to reading. First and foremost, the various effects reading has on the brain can be beneficial now and a long time down the road. Research has found that older people who read more do better on tests of mental ability (Krashen, 2010). They don’t just do better; they do a lot better. A research team found that older...