THE READING BRAIN by Camelia Walker

A recurring theme these days is that the growing use of tools like computers and smartphones, along with using web search engines like Google is making people less literate.  By less literate they mean, we have trouble focusing on long paragraphs of complex information and ideas. Even when people can get through the reading, they have difficulty remembering and understanding what they’ve read.

How is this possible,you wonder? And why would anyone say that as you sit here…reading this article?

Maryanne Wolf, a neuroscientist at Tufts University, said "I worry that the superficial way we read during the day is affecting us when we have to read with more in-depth processing. In her book, Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain, Wolf describes how, in terms of evolution, reading is a recently acquired skill. Her work with a wide variety of readers leads her to argue that while we humans have learned to read, our brains were not necessary designed for it. If we don’t exercise that skill, we may lose it altogether.

Before we humans got so efficient with web-surfing, we read in sequential ways, page after page, chapter after chapter. But have a look at the average webpage and it’s a celebration of non-linear, non-sequential reading: you have bulleted lists, glowing links, photos, pop-up videos, and a scrolling display of text and a flashing ad. Reading online involves bold points, graphics and short sentences and ideas. The brain gets used to jumping around the page/screen, popping from one idea to the next.

Through our time on the internet we’ve developed the skill and habit of quickly scrolling, visually finding the key words, looking for key information points and gathering data. That’s a useful way to experience the internet but it does not work for reading books. Reading a book requires some level of sustained focus and attention—the very opposite of useful/skillful use of internet and social media sites.

Developing the skill to efficiently navigate websites, email and social media is different from the skill of reading. Are we doomed to only be able to surf the web and read only short snippets of information?

Luckily, contrary to popular belief, old dogs can learn new tricks and the brain can change throughout life. Wolf encourages people to aim for ‘bi-literacy’, becoming fluent in both print and digital reading. Wolf describes having to force herself to sit and read a novel. It required learning how to slow down, to read each word rather than scanning the page. She had to force herself to stay with the process long enough to comprehend what she read. Before long, she was able to regain the skill of reading and comprehending, but it was a process.

What can we do?

Smartphones and computers are a part of life, so it’s unreasonable to imagine getting rid of the digital tools in favor of books and paper reading only. Instead, we can follow Wolf’s lead and develop bi-literacy. Leave smartphone and computer use for work purposes only and commit some portion of each day to reading printed books. You might try reading poetry and short stories to get your brain back in shape and build up to novels and literature or non-fiction. Let us know how it goes and let us know if you need help with reading or want to improve your reading comprehension. Happy reading!