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.

This is a brilliant thread. We actually sound very similar OP, and I am married to a man who doesn’t read and never has but earns far more than me and always will.

I have no real contribution other than to thank you as it’s been so interesting!

I don't know much about gaming (yes I live under a rock) but I think reading for pleasure and knowledge is never wasted.
In my experience, I am mid sixties, you can tell among my friends the ones who read and the ones who don't. I'm not being snobby but the non readers have a much lower level of knowledge than the readers.

When were the people in the studies born, and is it possible that the result for people born in 2015 will be completely different compared to 1970?

There are huge amounts of snobbery and classism surrounding children reading.

My MIL, who constantly talks down to me and amuses me greatly with her completely incorrect assumptions me, is always banging on about my child ' must read more' because it's ' wonderful' - like I'm so common that I couldn't possible have an imagination conducive with reading .

I work in H.E. and know the degree courses that are based around gaming ..cloud management, game design, information security etc that lead to very lucrative careers.

If you find money and the security it brings is a bit uncouth though, you can stick to a relatively worthless English Literature degree.

Being an avid reader has been proven to increase vocabulary exponentially

@LightSwerve they don't employ prolific readers who are only functionally numerate either. Reading is only one of many skills GCHQ require. I can guarantee you they'll employ a gamer with high mathematical skills over a prolific reader with low numeracy skills. They won't employ anybody who can't read at all, obviously, so a bit of a non-point, there.
GCHQ doesn't employ average to poor academics at all, except possibly to clean the loos.

gaming and telly (we always have the subtitles on) has really helped DSs’ reading. Well, I believe so. They’re great readers and do reading AND gaming for fun!

I was always a voracious reader, while my brother hated reading and loved film/gaming.

I became an academic, he makes an insane amount of money working in the gaming industry.

We're both happy! We're just different.

That's why I fundamentally agree with you OP. Not everyone loves to read for pleasure and that's ok. Some people don't like reading OR gaming, they want to do sport or be outside all day, that's ok too.

DH not a reader now - but he was in childhood well much more than now and often non-fiction.

MIL didn't approve of all the reading and wanted him out playing outside in fresh air and she has stories of him thwarting her by smuggling a book out and later finding out he'd spent time outside reading.

I do think literacy is an important skill and if you can get kids to practice vital skills on their own and have fun doing so - it's a huge win but beyond a certain level and stage - probably stage my older two are with good vocabulary decent exam results behind them if they start reading less and less and spend time doing other thing it's much less an issue.

There's nothing to say reading is good and gaming is bad, or vice versa. Both can be good, but nothing is good if you do it ALL the time. The trouble with gaming isn't the activity in itself, but the addictiveness of it, plus the danger of not always knowing who you're talking to online (but obviously that can be managed by only speaking to friends). There's no doubt that gaming with friends is a way to socialise, though I'd argue it's not as beneficial as in-person contact. A huge amount of communication is via body language, which just isn't there when gaming.

Being plugged into a gaming headset is completely different, in my opinion, to reading - as you're taking yourself out of your surroundings. When I'm gaming I won't speak to anyone, but when I'm reading, I have an awareness of what's going on around me.

As far as I know, there are no long term negative effects of reading, but plenty from excessive gaming.

It's all about moderation and balance, it's not black and white.

Gaming has been shown to improve IQ similar to learning an instrument - and it's linked to a higher IQ in the beginning.

I don't know why gaming gets a bad rep

High earnings aren’t an indicator of anything at all other than high earnings. They don’t accurately indicate or reflect intelligence, or skill, or talent, or enjoyment of life, or emotional maturity, or social skills. Or anything much at all. So I’m not sure that’s much of an argument.

Firstly, I think books still open minds in a way that games do not (at least yet). And beyond that, much of our education system, at least up to the age of 16/18, is still strongly built around reading comprehension and the ability to write effectively.

Going further, there are probably very, very few teenagers who are stick with their heads in books from the moment they get home from school until bedtime + weekends. They will invariably also be engaging in some gaming/socialising/music/100 other hobbies.

Many gamers on the other do get to addicted to the point of not having time for anything else. So I don’t think that gaming is inherently bad - in fact it’s a great hobby. But the addicting nature of it can be quite negative as it may hinder the development of other interests and skills.

It possible of course. But the studies show scores on cognitive tests not the income of adults born in 1970. As with everything you have to define what success means along with everything else. Here's more. https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/reading-for-pleasure-early-in-childhood-linked-to-better-cognitive-performance-and-mental-wellbeing.

I don't think it should be either reading or gaming but it is false - based on current evidence - to say that reading for pleasure and gaming for pleasure are even of the same value. Currently we think reading is better.

I don't want to denigrate gaming because I think it has loads of benefits and is fun. But reading is really important too.

His vocabulary initially came from me. Now it, and a lot of his general knowledge, comes from online documentaries and analysis. He would be very unlikely to have read a book about the legal ramifications of a character that entered the public domain a week ago. But internet analysis was available immediately.

But surely the same can be said for reading…..I could read 100 books and not be remotely more intellectual or cultural. Books have the potential to be many things for many people but don’t think people only read for those two things.

It may be they want to escape, read a story and move on.

Yet if you watch author YouTube videos and master class courses, one of the important things they say from the get-go…..keep it simple. Don’t just write words for the sake of it. And it’s true. Not every book has to be a literary work of art and full of description.

Who cares if anyone knows 7 words for ‘lovely’. And with the internet, if someone needs a different word, they have a google and get one. Nobody is saying it’s bad to have a good vocabulary but at the same time, it’s not bad if you don’t.

I don't think so. He's just very interested in the subjects he's passionate about. I can definitely see that he has traits in common with ASD but then he's very different in other ways.

@TheAlchemistElixa no, but it does have a bearing. Those graduating in the STEM fields are more likely to be higher earners than those with arts degrees.
A few years ago, there was a lot of talk about 'Mickey Mouse' degrees, and English Literature was counted as one of those degrees less likely to have real world value. At the time, there was quite a bit of rudeness about Eng Lit being the type of degree to result in a lifetime of saying 'do you want fries with that?' and whilst not absolutely true, it isn't far off.
This isn't to say, by the way, that I don't think the arts are important. I absolutely do. I just recognise that if you have STEM abilities, your earning potential is higher, and there are more high achievers in STEM fields who weren't prolific readers than there are prolific readers with low STEM skills in high earning posts.

the ability to read is absolutely key in every single subject.

But the OP isn’t suggesting illiteracy as a way forward!

there are more high achievers in STEM fields who weren't prolific readers than there are prolific readers with low STEM skills in high earning posts.

I don't believe this is true. I think most high achievers in STEM fields and non STEM fields will have been prolific readers. But I'm open to having that proved wrong.

I am going to guess that people who read a lot of fiction probably understand other people better and likely have better social lives as a result. I think studies have shown reading is correlated with empathy.

Prolific gamers, on the other hand, tend not to be the most socially able people in my experience...

There's more to life than money.

I think you are understating the benefits of reading and very much overstating the benefits of gaming. I honestly have nothing against gaming. Dh and ds are keen gamers and talk about it quite a lot with each other, which is nice. I've done a bit in the past too.

Some games involve and element of actual rl history or culture. Most don't. If you were comparing a 10yo who was a voracious reader to one who spends hours on Fortnite, it's not hard to see who's going to get more benefits in terms of vocabulary, language skills etc.

Plus reading requires sustained concentration in a different way from gaming. The speed, colour and instant gratification of gaming almost certainly make books and non-screen-based school work less appealing and harder to concentrate on. Much like adults saying they find it hard to concentrate on books because they are too used to scrolling and short, attention-grabbing snippets of information.

The fact that so many gamers earn far more than the contractors readers among us says far more about a capitalist society than it does about the incredible value of reading.