Literature is one of our oldest and most human forms of connection in both art and academia, and its purpose has always been to promote a connection between people.
In the increasingly digital age, however, the question of whether we’re either too connected or too hidden behind a screen has been an increasingly popular argument. Personally, I believe social media is a double-edged sword. It’s great to connect with people, but the way we go about it is almost entirely misused.
I could give you numerous reasons as to why I love books I read years ago, from a description of the plot, a list of characters, to my personal take on the book. Yet, do I think I could give you the specifics of any TikTok I watched during my hours-long scroll yesterday? If I try really hard, I can think of one or two, but that is completely disproportionate to the tens I watched.
Though I know that I enjoy the videos simply based on the fact that I continue to open the app for a small hit of dopamine, they still aren’t significant enough to leave an impression on my brain. This is the problem with short-form content–it simply leaves our brain the second we finish processing it.
So, honestly, what are we training our brains to do by consuming hours upon hours of mindless content in a day? If we’re forgetting everything we do in online spaces, save inflammatory content meant to invoke a strong emotional response, are we really learning about anything?
We all know by now that the answer is: No.
So, the question is, how do we get people to care?
We’ve migrated into a society that, instead of engaging with books composed of thousands of words to build an elaborate story, we are instead reading posts limited to 280 characters and videos rarely longer than 30 seconds. Our information on our peers, our society, and our planet is often garnered through curated and provocative content, and though we’re literally more connected than ever, we’re so emotionally and socially distant.
It’s not the evilest of all evils to watch TikTok or spend time on Instagram reels, but the problem is that we often lack the balance of genuine, meaningful content to outweigh what we’re feeding our brains.
That’s why I encourage everyone to set equal, if not more, time to engage with books of all genres and connect with this age-old art form. Reading opens up your world to others’ stories and realities, invites opportunities for introspection, fosters emotional intelligence, and provides meaningful content for your brain to actually care about.
Literary fiction, in particular, is a genre with so much to offer regarding others’ perspectives. Personally, as I know others have, I’ve struggled a lot with the experience of college and what it means to be here. In my moments of doubt, though, I always think back to a book I read in High School called Educated by Tara Westover, in which the author recounts her experience growing up in a rural off-grid community with parents who didn’t agree or support the idea of her going to school. It’s then that I start to reconnect with my opportunity to explore my education instead of letting the overwhelming moments knock me down.
Similarly, with all the political discourse we witness daily, political books or dystopian novels have always been a popular and educational genre of books to dive into further. They offer critical insight into understanding healthy institutions and the importance of social causes.
In an age of constant connection with everything, everywhere, all at once, it’s our responsibility to take charge and choose whether or not to become wrapped up in media with no real substance or learning opportunities. It’s our responsibility to care to learn about the world we live in, the people we share it with, and the limitless opportunities it offers to our imagination.