Book reading : Dying ? In this age of internet…

“Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light”-Harold Kushner

Reading opens our eyes and makes us see more than just what the front door shows. It helps us realize the wide world outside, surrounding us. With this, we begin to learn, ask questions, and build our intuitions and instincts. We expand our minds.

With dawn of internet and dominance of social media the present youth with knowledge on finger tips, thanks to the search engines and number of websites with huge resource of knowledge available on click has drifted from the world of book reading, feel people.

But there is another opinion too. People say that the world of book reading can never end. The youth and people are still inclined to reading and particularly literature.

To understand the inclination of youth and people towards book reading Window To News spoke to people from diversified field.

Kamla Rawat , DSP( MP Police) : Reading books particularly literature is a pleasurable, entertaining activity that offers me the potential to escape from the troubles of daily life. Above all literature has importance in my life because of its capacity to entertain me. Literature also has the power to provoke thought in me, making it a leisure activity that is also intellectually productive.

Books have the power to impart a wide variety of experiences to me. A story can expose readers to different places, time periods, viewpoints and cultures. This happens with me always as I read books of my interest.

I gain experiences through literature, I now and then meet many people who have interest in literature and love reading and so I really can’t say that this generation is drifting away in any sense from reading due to any new technological and lifestyle change.

 Manpreet Roy, Principal- Peoples Public School : Books have no replacement and there is nothing comparable to book reading. The youths must give more time to books rather then being online.
The cyber wold gives a problem. We are continuously connected. Thanks to smart phones and other technologies, we have almost become cyborgs—creatures that are half human, half machine.

Numerous studies show that the more a person hangs out online the worse he or she is likely to feel. Web use often displaces sleep, exercise, and face-to-face exchanges, all of which can lead to loneliness, a sense of isolation, and depression
The brains of Internet addicts, it turns out, look like the brains of drug and alcohol addicts.
I believe you can enjoy the benefits of the Internet while avoiding many of the dangers by practicing five positive disciplines:

The discipline of rest.
The discipline of reflection.
The discipline of reading.
The discipline of relationships.
The discipline of recreation.

I don’t think we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but we do need to be intentional. We need to build these five practices into our daily routine.

As an educator I believe…Books are the carriers of civilization ,Without books history is silent, literature dumb,science crippled, thought and speculation at a stand still. they are engines of change,window on the world ,”light house erected in the sea of time”.

Professor Shalini Jadia,  ENT,PCMS & RC : I have been an avid reader since my childhood, starting from Diamond comics. I still remember asking newspaper guy, when new edition will come. Then I grew to Archie’s, Hardy boys, Nancy drew. Then I grew up to bigger novels fiction and classics. When I think retrospectively, I feel these books have sculptured me.

Books increase your imaginative power exponentially and makes you more understanding person, because a book is a dream which you hold in hand.

I always have a book going on and read it whenever I get time to read. I cannot think of travelling without a book. Books are great deal of knowledge because you go to places, you get different perspectives of the same event and you get to learn history and cultures.
When I see, youngsters, preparing for competitive exams like CAT,  trying to mug up titles of books, names of authors, summaries of classic novels – it feels very strange, or for that matter, there is a long list of similar sounding words like accept-except, advise-advice, which are to be learnt and their proper use distinguished. I am sure that if you have developed reading habit right from childhood, this problem will not arise later on.
With the explosion of knowledge on Internet, present day youth think there is no need to read books since all information is available at the click of a button. They spend a lot of time on chatting or sharing their life on social media.
Many people think that why to read books when we can watch a movie or a documentary, but it’s not the same. I still remember reading silence of the lambs, which gave me goosebumps because of my imagination but that was not so with the movie.
It is important to balance between free time, if part of this time is used in reading newspapers, topics of current affairs or popular classics, it will leave a more indelible mark on their minds. There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s mind. Love of books is the best of all. And finally….So many books, so little time -Frank Zappa.

Mahesh Meghwal ,Student of International Business, Victoria University Melbourne:With changing era we all want fast results and getting influenced. Wishing to get ahead in various fields we are sacrificing other areas of our life. These areas are important. Whether exercise which saves us from obesity, heart disease, blood pressure and a lot more diseases or reading which gives us intelligence and knowledge we are avoiding the vital aspects. If one wishes to look better than the crowd and smarter exercises should be accompanied with reading books. It doesn’t really matter who we are and what we do, we should never compromise with our personality.

Dr Sonalika Katare, Peoples Hospital Bhopal : A book doesn’t go on holiday or have bad days, It’s always there for you to pick up when you need it and for me it is my depression bible.’

Hundreds of scientific studies and researches across the world have conclusively proved that regular physical activity leads to a higher life expectancy. The brain also requires a lot of exercise to keep it healthy and book reading is one of them.

Neuroscientists have discovered that reading a novel can improve brain function on a variety of levels. Yes, it’s really true for me, reading has a significant number of benefits like Mental Stimulation, Stress Reduction, Vocabulary Expansion, Memory Improvement, Improved Focus and Concentration, Tranquility and many more are there.

What I found interesting is that when you read about doing something, the neurons in your brain fire as if you’re actually doing the thing. I came across this point elsewhere as well. I usually read books cover to cover non-stop, so this probably explains why, when I finish, then it sometimes takes time for me to realize that I am not the main character!

According to a study, Reading for at least 6 Minutes reduce the stress up to 60 percent, which is 68 percent more than Listening to Music, 100 percent more than Drinking a cup of Coffee, 300 percent more than Going for a walk and 600 percent more than Playing a video Game. Not I do not thing it needs more explanation. Happy Reading!!

Monisha Satyawadi ,NUJS Kolkata 2nd year Student-Literature is an important part of human life and I don’t think anyone  can replace it with with movies or sitcom or any TV series. I feel that today’s youth want a shorter step and shorter way for success for everything. I personal feel reading a book gives me a lot of satisfaction and help me to innovate and imagine all the characters.

I try to link with them. I feel when one reads a book it captures your emotions and somehow give you that time which you crave all for yourself in your regular schedule. Although people replace reading with other hobbies but I am a kind of person who even goes to a cafeteria carrying a book and read while sipping and enjoying a mug of coffee. For me book is a permanent company, a friend and something that will never ditch you in your life.

Rudraditya  Khare , NLI –Bhopal :  I feel in the modern time the competition in the students has increased dramatically and since it is now required to be more updated with current affairs and what’s going on around you, you tend to read more of news papers. The news paper reading among my friends and has gone up is what I feel personally. About book reading I cannot comment much as I am not a vivid reader. However I make sure I read newspaper daily and stay updated. So in my point of view today’s youth is much and more aware and they are tend to more reading about current affairs.

Raja Rawat, Civil Engineer : I prefer much of exercise and physical activity over reading, as I examine the impact of exercising and a healthy lifestyle among the youth. I have seen many people especially the youth jogging, running or walking alone or with a friend. This made me ask myself how exercise had helped them in their daily routine and if there was relation to healthy eating.

Physical activity is one of the most basic human functions and needs which has benefits across the lifespan. There is strong evidence that children and youths benefit from physical activity through improved cardio respiratory and muscular fitness, bone health, and metabolic health biomarkers, and there is a growing body of evidence that inactive children are more likely to become inactive adults. The importance of starting physical activity at an early age is essential in learning motor and social skills and in the development of creativity. However book reading is altogether a different world and people are part of it.

Sushmita Bose House Wife: Reading is a passion that very few people have these days. Due to the easy reach of internet people prefer to take a short cut and avoid reading but the joys of indulging yourself in a book is something I cannot describe in words. I am a passionate reader….so I always suggest that there is nothing more enjoyable than reading Of course today’s youth are least interested in reading….most have not read anything beyond comics.- Window To News