READING VS DOOMSCROLLING: HOW BOOKS HAVE HELPED ME FIGHT DISTRACTION

As per recent data from World Population Review, America occupies the top spot in terms of the most time spent reading, with 357 hours spent on reading books and other reading material. India is not far behind either, as it occupies the second-highest spot with over 352 hours being spent per year on reading. In the American context, the growing popularity of e-books and the widespread network of public libraries have strengthened the country’s reading culture. Meanwhile, India thrives on a rich literary heritage with a growing multilingual publishing industry. From regional literature to English bestsellers, Indians engage with a variety of genres to support a vibrant reading landscape.

Now I know that these figures seem promising, but unfortunately, there is a different side to this story, particularly in the Indian context. Reportedly, India has over 1.2 billion smartphone users and 950million internet users. As per a report by EY, Indians spend an average of five hours per day on their smartphone, particularly on social media, gaming and short-form video consumption. This report highlights that the availability of affordable internet has only exacerbated the problem of digital distraction in the world's most populous nation.

Smartphones and the internet disrupting productivity isn’t a new problem, as it has been there for years, but the emergence of vertical short-form content has recently become a huge problem in the digital media landscape. There was a time when even entertainment required attention in some form. If someone read a book, they were expected to focus on the text, context, and ideas in the case of non-fiction books, and setting, character development, and plot in fiction, to fully understand what they were reading. So reading isn’t just a time pass or a leisure activity, it is an integral cognitive workout. This applies to both fiction and nonfiction books. Movies and Television are not very different as they also demand the audience’s focus to ensure an understanding of the narrative. In fact, with the rise of global entertainment and the growing popularity of Korean and Chinese dramas, subtitles and reading have become integral to visual media as well. The demands for the reader are still the same, but the reading and viewing habits have significantly changed. A study by MS University’s Department of Statistics has revealed that the current generation (Gen Z) spends over three hours every day watching short videos on social media platforms and video-sharing apps. Out of the average daily screen time of five hours, they spend three hours watching short 15–60 second video clips, and this is particularly dangerous because social media platforms often have infinite scroll or autoplay functions to keep people hooked for a long time. The short-form videos are designed to provide small doses of dopamine hit with instant gratification, but they also leave the users feeling guilty once they snap out of it. Once people grow accustomed to consuming such content, then the normal act of reading a long text or watching a movie or TV series with a well-paced story becomes difficult. And this has become a reality for most people as television has become the secondary screen while the smartphone with its byte sized entertainment has become the primary screen. Entertainment giants like Netflix are not only aware of this shift, they are capitalising on it. They are now more keen on greenlighting movies and TV shows that can be watched without expecting the viewers to completely focus on the narrative. This trend has also changed how people consume news on social media, as most people have made such platforms the primary source of news consumption.

This highlights that we live in a world where there are enthusiastic readers as well as digital addicts, and this is particularly prominent in India. The evolving reading and viewing trends are extremes that exist within the same country. Now we have to tackle a paradox by navigating a leisure landscape where people love to read are simultaneously grappling with growing digital distraction. Due to the nature of my hobby as a book influencer and the undeniable allure of the digital distractions, I’ve also been a prisoner of this ‘brain rot’ phenomenon. From relying solely on headlines for news to watching the cheesy Christmas movies while doomscrolling — I’ve done it all at one point. But things did change for me, even though it took me two months to make noticeable progress. I began with general short stories and the genres that interested me. Then, I started reading genres that I found boring. I even got in a habit of making a list of new words on a word document with their definitions. Even now, I find myself revisiting those words every few days to hone my vocabulary. Reading took me back to my childhood and teenage years when I was an avid reader without a smartphone. The craving for digital dopamine reduced, and I found myself spending more time with real words instead of being at the mercy of my algorithm. I still have a long way to go to achieve complete digital detox, but my journey has certainly led me to believe that it is not as daunting as most believe it to be.

Here are some techniques that can help you tackle digital distractions in your life:

1. Placement Magic: As per a report by the Boston Consulting Group, around 84% of Indian smartphone users check their phones within 15 minutes of waking up. This report also highlights that around 31% of their time after waking up is spent on their phones, and people check their devices around 80 times a day on average. This doesn’t always happen intentionally, because even if someone tries to control their urge, their commitments on the phone get in their way. Someone might just open their phone with the simple intent of checking emails and messages if their phone is near them, only to eventually go down the rabbit hole of doomscrolling. People also tend to pick up their phone reflexively when they are bored, waiting for something or preparing to sleep. In such cases, the original intent is to stay online for 10–15 minutes, but by the time they log off, they realise that they’ve wasted almost two hours on doomscrolling. The solution is to keep a physical book or an e-reader where you usually keep your phone, especially at night. So, when the urge hits, you can read the book instead.

2. A Daunting Dynamic: Look, no one is expecting you to read highbrow classics with 500 pages for digital detox. You just need to focus on what you’d like to read. To be more specific, you need to replace the high stimulation visual content with a text with similar energy and style. So you can start with short stories, flash fiction and manga based on your favourite genre. You can also listen to audiobooks for longer novels. If you do not like fictional content, then you can start reading or listening to non-fiction audiobooks and podcasts. This step can help you improve your attention span and ease you into developing reading habits. Personally, I always recommend people to start with mystery and thriller stories as they are always page turners and good at keeping people at the edge of their seats. Also, you don’t need to read a book in one day. You can start by spending 15–20 minutes on reading and increase the time based on your engagement with your book.

3. A Cozy Corner: One of the best ways to have an immersive reading experience is to designate a cozy reading environment away from your from your phone and TV. If possible, then add some mood lighting, a cozy cushion, and a warm beverage. Establishing a ritual of sitting in your designated reading spot will condition your mind to associate the space with comfort, coziness, focus and genuine relaxation and focus, similar to how a phone addicts the brain to a certain dopamine craving.

Building sustained attention ensures responsible functioning. An adult is expected to juggle multiple responsibilities and most of them require concentration and critical thinking, an integral skill that is at a risk of redundancy due to the proliferation of digital distractions. Tackling an addiction like this is not as daunting as it seems, especially if you take one step at a time. I always see reading as an activity I can enjoy and learn from, and that is why I never saw reading as a chore. This strategy is nothing but replacing a bad addiction with an intellectually simulating one.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

Literacy and education are the biggest assets anyone can yield. This article sheds light on a more privileged aspect of literacy that is often taken for granted. While the educated masses have the option to embrace aliteracy, there are still millions of people who cannot access good quality education. Aliteracy is about having the ability to read but being unwilling to read, while illiteracy is about the inability to read and write. In this case, people who fall under the former category are more privileged, and out of them, some people choose to spread this knowledge through non-profit ventures. Akash Tandon is one such individual who decided to work for the community after seeing the plight of people who live and struggle in the margins of society. Along with four other volunteers, he founded Pehchaan The Street School, a non-profit organisation in 2015, with the aim of educating students of all age groups and supporting their holistic development. Ten years later, the school continues to empower its students to hone their intellect and learn life skills to become informed citizens of the country after graduation. The school is a crowdfunded initiative with more than 1600 students learning with the support of hundreds of volunteers and interns. The school’s work also goes beyond core academics through health check-ups, sessions on personal hygiene and menstrual health, storytelling, music and vocational training.

To know more about the school’s endeavours, you can visit their official website: https://pehchaanstreetschool.org/