4 ms·

I'm older than you and also have trouble reading but I figured out the problem. I've spent so many years skimming articles on the web that I'm having a hard tim

I'm older than you and also have trouble reading but I figured out the problem. I've spent so many years skimming articles on the web that I'm having a hard time breaking the habit. I'm reading "Spare" today by Prince Harry and it's a struggle, but I'm managing to slow down and comprehend each sentence and each word if necessary before moving on. I'm doing this because I want to start reading books again in my retirement. You case sounds different though, like it might be something organic. Are you taking a medication that makes you less sharp? Bipolar meds certainly do that. Do you have headaches that might indicate some problem? Have you had Covid so maybe have brain fog from long Covid? Are you depressed and anxious? Do you drink a lot? Etc... Good luck figuring it out.

sfpotter 4y ago
Agree with this. Seems like there could be many confounding factors in this case. Others: How much do you sleep? How active are you? What is your diet like?
- jason_slack 4y ago
  Taking no meds for the last 9 months, never had Covid, my PCP referred me to the development/behavioral ophthalmologist. updated the main post as well to reflect this..
  - Freak_NL 4y ago
    But do you have a reading habit? That is, outside of reading the non-fiction texts you now need, do you read fiction for leisure?
    - jason_slack 4y ago
      Yes, I read a lot for enjoyment. This has also gone down hill.
yamtaddle 4y ago
This x1,000. The only time I'm able to effortlessly get in a lot of long-form reading done is if I go on vacation somewhere with no goddamn Internet at all. It's wonderful. I swear, if a genie gave me three wishes, concern about being able to properly craft the wish would be the only thing that'd keep me from burning one of them to permanently eliminate the Internet. [EDIT] That is, in addition to weakening my reading ability through use of it, the presence of the Internet is so damn distracting that it's hard to read more than a few pages at a time. Consider how, say, pop-culture trivia questions used to come and go from one's mind with hardly any conscious notice taken—no relevant book on hand, no friend or family member present who might know, well, even calling someone's too much effort for something so unimportant, and off goes that idle thought, probably never to come up again—now, though, those sorts of questions reach one's conscious mind all the time, and they itch until you take the 5-second break to answer them; repeat for everything else, like how's so-and-so doing, wonder if anyone's posted anything interesting, et c.
- endigma 4y ago
  They said, on the internet, using a device likely paid for by a job that depends on the internet, likely alive due to medical knowledge that could only exist through the internet, ... and so on....
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    > They said, on the internet, using a device likely paid for by a job that depends on the internet Yet you participate in society. Curious! > likely alive due to medical knowledge that could only exist through the internet Definitely not true yet. Maybe some day. Maybe never.
    - endigma 4y ago
      > Yet you participate in society. Curious! You didn't say "the internet sucks", you said "I'd get rid of it if I could". > Definitely not true yet. Maybe some day. Maybe never Medicine has come further since the internet than it did in 50 years prior, imagine the hit COVID would have had if nobody fucking knew about it until someone they knew got it. So many things depend on global information sharing, saying "blow it all up" because you don't like TikTok or Instagram is so ignorant it's unreal. The internet isn't just cat videos and short form content, it's the backbone of the last 50 years of innovation.
petarb 4y ago
This really resonates with me. Thank you for sharing. I never really considered the fact that skimming articles on the web can have such an impact on me as well, especially when I don’t read long form content or books as often as I did in college.
f1shy 4y ago
Just another one vote for this. In my case, I find myself reading extremely fast online, but when I read a book (fiction or textbook) I'm really slow, have to go back lots of times, sometimes I have to read a sentence 5 times. My suggestion is to try to relax. I find it gets worst when I'm stressed because "I have to finish this chapter today". Pressure is my worst enemy. Also what helps me, is going to a park, or a place where I feel very good, that stimulates my good mood to read.
nickelcitymario 4y ago
I didn't even finish reading your comment, so touché. (That's not sarcasm. I'm genuinely agreeing with you and mocking my short attention span.)
JohnBooty 4y ago
Ever try using a sheet of paper to force yourself to slow down while reading a book? You use the sheet of paper to cover the unread portion of the page (aside from the current line, obviously) to prevent your eyes from skimming ahead. I remember seeing kids with reading problems doing this in grade school. Much to my chagrin (and amusement!) I now find it very useful for myself. Prevents me from reading so quickly that I absorb nothing.

sfpotter 4y ago

Agree with this. Seems like there could be many confounding factors in this case. Others: How much do you sleep? How active are you? What is your diet like?

jason_slack 4y ago
Taking no meds for the last 9 months, never had Covid, my PCP referred me to the development/behavioral ophthalmologist. updated the main post as well to reflect this..
- Freak_NL 4y ago
  But do you have a reading habit? That is, outside of reading the non-fiction texts you now need, do you read fiction for leisure?
  - jason_slack 4y ago
    Yes, I read a lot for enjoyment. This has also gone down hill.

yamtaddle 4y ago

This x1,000. The only time I'm able to effortlessly get in a lot of long-form reading done is if I go on vacation somewhere with no goddamn Internet at all. It's wonderful. I swear, if a genie gave me three wishes, concern about being able to properly craft the wish would be the only thing that'd keep me from burning one of them to permanently eliminate the Internet. [EDIT] That is, in addition to weakening my reading ability through use of it, the presence of the Internet is so damn distracting that it's hard to read more than a few pages at a time. Consider how, say, pop-culture trivia questions used to come and go from one's mind with hardly any conscious notice taken—no relevant book on hand, no friend or family member present who might know, well, even calling someone's too much effort for something so unimportant, and off goes that idle thought, probably never to come up again—now, though, those sorts of questions reach one's conscious mind all the time, and they itch until you take the 5-second break to answer them; repeat for everything else, like how's so-and-so doing, wonder if anyone's posted anything interesting, et c.

endigma 4y ago
They said, on the internet, using a device likely paid for by a job that depends on the internet, likely alive due to medical knowledge that could only exist through the internet, ... and so on....
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  > They said, on the internet, using a device likely paid for by a job that depends on the internet Yet you participate in society. Curious! > likely alive due to medical knowledge that could only exist through the internet Definitely not true yet. Maybe some day. Maybe never.
  - endigma 4y ago
    > Yet you participate in society. Curious! You didn't say "the internet sucks", you said "I'd get rid of it if I could". > Definitely not true yet. Maybe some day. Maybe never Medicine has come further since the internet than it did in 50 years prior, imagine the hit COVID would have had if nobody fucking knew about it until someone they knew got it. So many things depend on global information sharing, saying "blow it all up" because you don't like TikTok or Instagram is so ignorant it's unreal. The internet isn't just cat videos and short form content, it's the backbone of the last 50 years of innovation.

petarb 4y ago

This really resonates with me. Thank you for sharing. I never really considered the fact that skimming articles on the web can have such an impact on me as well, especially when I don’t read long form content or books as often as I did in college.

f1shy 4y ago

Just another one vote for this. In my case, I find myself reading extremely fast online, but when I read a book (fiction or textbook) I'm really slow, have to go back lots of times, sometimes I have to read a sentence 5 times. My suggestion is to try to relax. I find it gets worst when I'm stressed because "I have to finish this chapter today". Pressure is my worst enemy. Also what helps me, is going to a park, or a place where I feel very good, that stimulates my good mood to read.

nickelcitymario 4y ago

I didn't even finish reading your comment, so touché. (That's not sarcasm. I'm genuinely agreeing with you and mocking my short attention span.)

JohnBooty 4y ago

Ever try using a sheet of paper to force yourself to slow down while reading a book? You use the sheet of paper to cover the unread portion of the page (aside from the current line, obviously) to prevent your eyes from skimming ahead. I remember seeing kids with reading problems doing this in grade school. Much to my chagrin (and amusement!) I now find it very useful for myself. Prevents me from reading so quickly that I absorb nothing.