A Look at Why Reading Really Matters

The importance of reading can be a hot button topic. When you bring it up, it tends to cause one of two dramatic reactions in adults—both of which probably come from thoughts of their childhood experiences. What is it about reading? Some people will get a dreamy look in their eyes and tell you about the hours they can spend curled up with a book, in a different world, or with a highlighter, dog-earring pages to revisit. For others, they glaze over a bit, and you can almost see the confidence drain out of their body. “Reading was hard,” they’ll tell you. “I still don’t think I’m a good reader.”

I’m sure you can relate to one or the other, or maybe both depending on your experience. For some, reading comes easily, they receive and process sound and print associations and can move quickly into more sophisticated structure and content. For many others (more than we previously thought), their teachers did the best they could, but perhaps didn’t have the training to offer the direct instruction they needed to really understand the nuances of spoken and written language and how to decipher it. For still others, they had something standing in their way—whether they knew it or not. And sadly, maybe some gave up.

Reading is one of the best hobbies that one can have. It’s fun to read different types of books. By reading the books, we get to know the people of different areas around the world, different cultures, traditions and much more. There is so much to explore by reading different books. They are the abundance of knowledge and are best friends of human beings. We get to know about every field and area by reading books related to it. There are various types of books available in the market, such as science and technology books, fictitious books, cultural books, historical events and wars related books etc. Also, there are many magazines and novels which people can read anytime and anywhere while traveling to utilize their time effectively.

Reading is a language skill necessary to present yourself in front of others because without being a good reader, it’s difficult to be a good communicator. Reading books should be practiced regularly. Books are considered a human’s best friend.

It Is right to say that knowledge can’t be stolen. Reading enhances the knowledge of a person. There are numerous benefits of reading.

1) Reading helps to develop empathy and foster connection with perspective taking

You can never fully understand what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes. But having empathy means you can feel what it might feel like to be in their situation. Or maybe you’ve experienced something similar and really do know what that particular event feels like. When we are deeply involved in a story, even if we don’t agree with many of the characters’ thoughts, actions, or words, we are called to consider their perspective. Believe it or not, this type of practice actually does transfer to real life situations. And frequently, connecting to a character’s differing beliefs can help you do just that in real life.

They say you can never know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes. But here is a place where you can definitely see the importance of reading. Getting lost in a book is another excellent way to see the world from a different perspective. Even if you disagree with the author on every single page, you’re at least taking the time to hear and consider alternate points of view. And more often than not, you’ll find that reading about personal experiences can be a trigger to change your own mindset.

2) Reading improves critical thinking skills

Given the availability of all kinds of information via the internet, people might be asking, “Why is reading so important if I can just google it?” Google might give you a lot of information—sometimes factual and sometimes not, but it doesn’t tell you how to think. Building critical thinking skills is more important than ever for our children. Especially if they are using the internet. Critical thinking, or the ability to think deeply about a topic, question or idea, is a skill that needs to be practiced like any other.

When children spend a lot of time reading, they strengthen their ability to think about something from another point of view and to problem solve for someone outside of themselves. Finding solutions to a character’s problem helps children to think through other issues around them with similar discernment.

3) Reading builds vocabulary authentically and enhances conversation skills

The more time kids spend reading grade-level text, the more likely they are to authentically learn new words. This is true for both books that children read independently and those that are read aloud to them. In fact, reading aloud with children allows for exposure to sophisticated language and content that might be above their independent reading level, but not above their interest level. Not only is it a great way to bring in new vocabulary, it also keeps younger children interested in reading when they are still working towards being able to access higher level text. Additionally, engaging children in dialogic reading, or authentic conversation about the book as we read helps them to understand how to talk about reading and gives them language to be able to try out these types of conversations on their own.

4) Reading teaches social skills and allows for “rehearsal” of universal experiences

Often, informational text or nonfiction books are revered for their learning value in the classroom. But the truth is that reading fiction allows for a whole different set of skills to be developed and strengthened. When kids read about characters they love, they experience the things their characters go through almost as if it is them. Here we see a huge reason reading is important.

Research tells us that when we read about a certain experience or activity, our brain lights up in the same places as when we actually experience those things. This means children can almost practice going through feeling certain feelings or maybe even their first experiences with empathy, teaching them that they can imagine what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes.

5) Reading strengthens cognitive processes

Cognitive processes help us learn new things. Neuroscientists say that reading actually strengthens your brain, even after you’ve moved on to something else. The more you read, the more parts of your brain activate, with lasting effects. Engaging in reading consistently bolsters cognitive processes because it exercises our brains, enhancing critical thinking and analytical skills.

Thinking through complex plots or understanding character motivations helps to foster problem-solving skills, encouraging readers to make connections and draw conclusions. Over time this can lead to improved memory retention, better concentration, and overall, more capacity for in-depth reading comprehension.

Conclusion –

In today’s world of the modern age and digital era, people can easily access resources online for reading. The online books and availability of ebooks in the form of pdf have made reading much easier. So, everyone should build this habit of reading and devote at least 30 minutes daily. If someone is a beginner, then they can start reading the books based on the area of their interest. By doing so, they will gradually build up a habit of reading and start enjoying it.