5 ms·

Yeah, I've noticed this too. I used to be able to finish pretty long books in one sitting and be completely absorbed in them, but now I struggle to finish a cha

Yeah, I've noticed this too. I used to be able to finish pretty long books in one sitting and be completely absorbed in them, but now I struggle to finish a chapter.

raz32dust 8y ago
It could also be that you've grown older, and have more responsibilities now, so you just don't really have as much time in continuous blocks? I used to be a reader in my teens as well, but in adult life, with work, social life and the tons of other activities that I have access to, it just isn't a priority. Slightly older friends of mine who are married/have kids have even less time. So it seems like free time reduces throughout adulthood until around retirement/kids-go-to-college, and then starts increasing again.
- legionof7 8y ago
  Yeah, it's probably somewhat that, though I usually do most of my reading before bed and I'm still not able to concentrate nearly as much as I was able to.
allochthon 8y ago
I wonder whether there's something deeper going on here in the world. The explosion of content on the Internet in the past 15 years has resulted in a great deal of high quality articles and long form journalism becoming readily available. Perhaps books were what we put up with when there was just less quality writing within reach. But now with heightened expectations we grow tired with the occasional rambling, repetition and longueurs that previously we would just power through out of habit. I'm not arguing this is the case. But it's something I've wondered about as a possible explanation for why books are less appealing to me now.
- Aromasin 8y ago
  I don't think that's necessarily true. The quality of writing hasn't change, but the formatting has been perfected. The short burst of dopamine we get from completing 10-30 minute videos, articles and the like are much more achievable, and therefore we naturally spend time consuming that, even though in hindsight it often doesn't make us as happy as reading a book does.
lolive 8y ago
Same here. Still thinking about this Nietzsche quote: “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” [That I consider a valid explanation of why Twitter is so damn great!... [1]] [1]: ... once you have curated your perfect list of "following".

Yeah, I've noticed this too. I used to be able to finish pretty long books in one sitting and be completely absorbed in them, but now I struggle to finish a chapter.

raz32dust 8y ago

It could also be that you've grown older, and have more responsibilities now, so you just don't really have as much time in continuous blocks? I used to be a reader in my teens as well, but in adult life, with work, social life and the tons of other activities that I have access to, it just isn't a priority. Slightly older friends of mine who are married/have kids have even less time. So it seems like free time reduces throughout adulthood until around retirement/kids-go-to-college, and then starts increasing again.

legionof7 8y ago
Yeah, it's probably somewhat that, though I usually do most of my reading before bed and I'm still not able to concentrate nearly as much as I was able to.

allochthon 8y ago

I wonder whether there's something deeper going on here in the world. The explosion of content on the Internet in the past 15 years has resulted in a great deal of high quality articles and long form journalism becoming readily available. Perhaps books were what we put up with when there was just less quality writing within reach. But now with heightened expectations we grow tired with the occasional rambling, repetition and longueurs that previously we would just power through out of habit. I'm not arguing this is the case. But it's something I've wondered about as a possible explanation for why books are less appealing to me now.

Aromasin 8y ago
I don't think that's necessarily true. The quality of writing hasn't change, but the formatting has been perfected. The short burst of dopamine we get from completing 10-30 minute videos, articles and the like are much more achievable, and therefore we naturally spend time consuming that, even though in hindsight it often doesn't make us as happy as reading a book does.

lolive 8y ago

Same here. Still thinking about this Nietzsche quote: “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” [That I consider a valid explanation of why Twitter is so damn great!... [1]] [1]: ... once you have curated your perfect list of "following".