To think that kids being great readers isn't so much better than being gamers?

[Utterbunkum]

I write this as a prolific reader. It was the family joke that I could be found with a book at all times. I loved reading, it was my greatest pleasure. I read from a young age.

But I wasn't a clever child. In every other respect, I was average, apart from maths, at which I was an unmitigated dunce (still am). This was later diagnosed as dyscalculia, unheard of in my childhood. A bit of a digression, but I think my maths teacher at secondary school, who was also the dyslexia assessor, knew something was off. He offended my mum once by asking her how I did in English and being surprised when she told him, 'very well, it's her best subject'.

To cut a long story short, my only skill (reading quickly and easily) has been of very little practical use. I got a degree in Eng Lit as a mature student, which did little to get me out of the minimum wage earning potential.

I find it interesting the importance people place on reading as an activity over gaming. My reading was just as antisocial (more so, since you can't chat with your mates whilst doing it) and the young gamers I know seem to be far more analytical and have higher earning potential than I ever did. My husband barely picked up a book. He is an IT whizz with a very high IQ. My nephew is not dissimilar.

I still love reading. And I do think kids who don't are missing out, but I suspect that's because my life has been so enhanced by it from an enjoyment perspective. But kids who game probably feel the same. I don't think reading is quite the superior form of entertainment some think it is.

Tell that to Pewdie Pie.

My DD (who's 13 today, happy birthday!) is an incredibly intelligent girl, and a hugely prolific reader. She read 1984 by Orwell last year, and is reading To Kill A Mockingbird after a relative gave her the book as a Christmas present.

Her vocabulary, intelligence, and writing ability is streets ahead of her peers, and I'm pretty sure it's helped hugely by much she loves her books.

I think reading is a essential skill, and one that will help you in many aspects of life.

*argh! You wouldn't think I was a copywriter, my editing is atrocious 😆😅😬

@Utterbunkum I do agree with you, sorry if that wasn’t clear! I don’t know anyone who sits there and reads encyclopaedia after encyclopaedia. I was the one sat in my room with my head in a book ignoring the world going past. I actually failed to develop some important social skills because of it. As an adult I’m quite keen on gaming too. I’d rather DC gamed than read because of the social aspect of it but I don’t see either as better than the other.

Don't agree. Reading broadens horizons, increases empathy by taking children into different worlds - and encourages imagination and grows knowledge.

I am not academic - have adhd - but was a voracious reader as a child and it is the thing that has got me through life. I understand so much abotu science/ history etc because of novels/ stories/ non fiction Ive read

Gaming is living in a world designed by money making IT Companies - we are being suckered to think kids spending hours online is not bad for them - of course in moderation it's fine but many children are not gaming in moderation.

Big tech really are winning if people start to think this is a reasonable argument.

Not sure if anyone has already made this point - but several studies have shown that those who have the habit of reading fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathise with them and see the world from their perspective. Reading activates a part of the brain that you use to navigate relationships with others and understand their motives, showing a link between reading and social skills

Gaming is definitely skill set. It uses a lot of cognitive function and also builds problem solving skills, resilience and as you say, is enjoyable!

Reading enhances our knowledge of the human experience though doesn’t it. Tells us stories of lives we would never consider otherwise, opens our eyes to concepts we’d never known about. Gaming does that to an extent but I don’t think it’s quite as useful at expanding the mind.

Its still a skill set though, my young DC is far better at 5 than me on most games

'if you can read well, you can comprehend history, geography, physics, chemistry, coding, etc. etc., better.'

you game, you can kill znardvaars when they invade from the plant Vorrrdzinger to attack the kralggiii.'

😂 coding?? Other way around perhaps, this thread gets more hilarious by the minute.

Surely it depends on what you read and how you read it and how your brain works, more like?

For example I am a reasonable bright person and I have a good grade at A level English Literature, but I can honestly say that beyond being able to repeat the bullet points relating to key themes that I was taught by teachers I got nothing out of it other than a hatred of Shakespeare, hatred of the theatre and a vow to never ever ever read anything written earlier than circa Jane Austen!

Some people get huge amounts from "great literature" with flowery prose. Other people need messages to be simple and to the point to have an impact. Reading Shakespeare and getting nothing from it at all other than a hatred of Shakespeare does not benefit the reader, nor does it benefit people who want to encourage the reading of Shakespeare.

Oh and one game as an example... 🤔

Brilliant books though😁

That's the most insightful thing I've ever read on here and I completely agree

You do realise that book publishers are also money making companies?

@ForeverDelayedEpiphany but you said at the start your daughter was highly intelligent. For those of us that really aren't, either reading or gaming for pleasure doesn't necessarily alter that. The point I am making is that for average children of average ability, reading is not necessarily a superior pastime than gaming.

'Gaming is largely passive - it’s repetitive, you’re channelled through a series of very tight narratives which are predetermined, and all the visuals and characterisation and voices are laid out before you. You receive it, you are not a part of creating it. The language and scripting is almost universally formulaic and poor (even in the best and most lauded games) compared to most decent novels, and the universe (even in the largest open world games) is small and constricted and one-note.'

'Novels and other forms of literature are the opposite of passive: they engage with you and communicate with you but asking you to engage your imagination..'

I actually disagree with this. My dc uses his imagination when he is designing and building anything he wants and choosing how he wants it to look by the finer detail. I don't think it is fair to say you don't engage your imagination in games, and that it is all laid out for you. This is true of some games but not them all. It is the same with books, they don't all prompt you to use your imagination. There is a balance with both.

What a weird way to see things. Reading builds a child's vocab, opens their minds to new worlds, often helps with their mental health...I mean, seriously.

No. It's been shown that reading for pleasure is an indicator of later success. It hasn't been shown that gaming is. So if it's a choice between one or the other (and I'm not sure why it should be), reading is currently known to be the better choice.

I thought gaming gave you a dopamine hit which books don't, making it more addictive?

I’m a strong believer in reading being important for young people and too much gaming being bad for you but…. Anecdotally, DH is a high earner and has never read a book in his life. I have read thousands of books and have a low paid career. Though mostly my earning potential was impacted by having children, I still wouldn’t be on as much as DH. So it’s definitely not the b-all and end-all but I still think it’s a better use of a child’s time than gaming. They do pick up grammar and vocabulary better from reading which are useful skills in almost any job.

Having struggled with reading - turned out I was dyslexia - I became an avid reader quite late in primary school but am one even now - I did find my families and village primary school view of me was very fixed they had low expectations. Secondary school was great - they tested us and sets went on that and I did really well.

When my older two really struggled and were slow readers - we put a lot of work into support with them at home - number of people who told us to stop or it wasn't worth bothering they'd never be "bright" - one at Uni and other doing well at A-level.

RL people knowing my qualifications hearing I'm dyslexia suddenly deciding this means I can't read.

It all leads me to wonder if all the research finding good readers at young ages do better in school is a self fulling prophesy.

I can see in past with less variety of media - that such a correlations would happen but now I wonder if our association with reading meaning academically good is more self fulling prophesy - we tell non readers they aren't as good academically and they do less well.

Though I wouldn't stop trying to get kids to enjoy reading especially not in favour of gaming.

What does the fact that GCHQ requires literacy, and the fact that gaming skills are not relevant to every single job at GCHQ, got to do with anything?

Do you honestly believe that 12 hours in a bedroom alone reading trashy novels is inherently better than spending 12 hours on a headset co-operating with 5 close friends on a creative and challenging minecraft project? I don't.

Obviously obsessions are unhealthy and variety is (part of) the spice of life.

@LightSwerve
Excellent post, I totally agree.

@Spinet I suppose I am viewing it from the perspective of someone who is only functionally numerate (at best) so probably need to look at statistical analysis of barely numerate gamers versus barely numerate readers. But I take your point