To think being a reader doesn't make you better or smarter?

[OnceaReaderNeveraReader]

Never been a reader. I have tried many times in my life and have enjoyed the odd book here and there but have never managed to actually become a regular reader and don't miss books ever. I was talking about this with some colleagues the other day and one of them made me feel a bit bad about this as if reading is a sign of better intellectual ability and superiority.
I am uni educated and enjoy a variety of other cultural hobbies such as art, theatre and dance but I just cannot understand what is so special about books!
How does one become a reader later in life and is it really that bad if I don't enjoy it?

Simply having books in the house is connected to children’s literacy, numeracy and tech skills. Not even reading them. Just them being there.

Which does imply that adults reading is a social good. It’s probably correlation not causation. I assume both things are correlated with a third (or moreth) thing. Income, level of education, class - probably all correlate with educational attainment.

On a personal level, rather than a population level, of course you can be wildly clever and educated without reading novels. But statistically, reading is associated with good outcomes.

I'm an avid reader but I think it's unfair to say people can't learn from TV or movies - it's surprising how many times I've known the answer to a question and when my friends queried how I knew it and it's because it was in 'Family Guy' of all things 😂

I don't think reading makes you smarter but in answer to your question of how one becomes a reader later in life it's like most things - you find your genre. And your writing style. You find an author you like who's books you don't mind and maybe you read more of them.

And if you still don't like reading that doesn't matter either. My friends are always wanting to do arts and crafts which I don't really like because anything I make looks a bit rubbish anyway. We all have our hobbies!

One of the most intelligent people I know who writes industrial reports and advises companies on their strategy never picks up a book. I read for pleasure not to be smarter. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t do it. Playing chess is supposed to be for smart people but I have no interest in it. Doesn’t make me thick-have more faith in yourself!

I disagree, I don't inherently think that you can say person a who reads is more clever than person b. However, I do think that reading allows you to learn about the world and humanity, helps improve things like empathy and explore the world through different points of view and therefore as an individual, I do think it improves who you are.
There are studies that suggest that reading improves intelligence although there's some arguments for correlation rather than causation. There is evidence to say it is vital for children to read in order to develop and I think given we know much of our grey matter can be moulded and changed even when we get older, it makes sense that reading continues to benefit our brains.

I would have thought being able to focus and concentrate for longer periods of time is good for your brain, as is using your own imagination

Like anything else really when you read you often pick up factual things without realising it that later resurface when you least expect it. I won a few competitions in the pre Internet days because I had happened to have come across the answer to the question in a book I had read. But the same could be said for watching a film or chatting with the next door neighbour I imagine

What I don't know is what people do instead of reading? When you are travelling/ commuting. when you wait for a doctor's appointment, when you are ill, when you are in hospital.

There's only so much time you can spend mindlessly scrolling, and even that is a very recent thing - no one had a smart phone when I was a teen, I am that old. So what people do?

There's so much time that would be wasted if you didn't, so much information you'd miss, I don't know about smart but I think non-readers are missing something.

I think it massively improves your vocabulary range. It is also one way to learn about how language is structured.

They don’t have the depth though.

Neither do a lot of books!

I think for me it’s the amount you can learn from reading versus visual media that take the same time. I groan when someone links me to a video because it’s so slow and minimal compared to reading. Thank goodness it’s common to be able to access a transcript as well.

However, of course visual media offers other forms of knowledge and experience.

It depends what you read. I’m only an occasional pleasure reader these days as life is full on and I have reading to do for work so tend to concentrate on that.

I know lots of people however who are voracious readers but when you ask about it you find they read absolute nonsense chick lit brain rot type books aimed at a reading / emotional age of about 12. The literary equivalent of Love Island.

Reading doesn't make you smarter as in improving your IQ, but it might can give you more knowledge and skills.

Having an enquiring mind can do the same without you ever having to pick up a book.

Having an enquiring mind probably makes you pick up books and read them.

To be honest a lot of recent popular fiction is quickly written novels that are aimed to cash in on the latest trend and really aren't that great.
There seems to be loads of romance novels based around sports at the moment. Many are poorly written and they are all very samey (also see plots about women opening their "dream" tea shops 😂).
Someone could be reading 2 or 3 of those types of books a week. Does that make them more intelligent than someone who doesn't enjoy novels but does go to the theatre/cultural events?

There’s a list of reasons why it’s different. We attend differently to different media. It’s self-paced and tactile, which is good for memory. Our brains do really interesting things while reading, for meaning. They’ve done fascinating work on eye tracking and reading. How we pause, flick back, skim, jump around for meaning. You don’t do that with a TV series.

To be honest there's a lot of snobbery within the book community anyway - heaven forbid you like Freida McFadden! 😂

Doesn’t that dependon how you define intelligence though?

I wouldn’t define someone who is good at corporate stuff as particularly intelligent.

Nope - I am an avid reader, mostly of dystopian fiction or Sci-fi / Sci-fantasy and that gets looked down on too. I have read many classic works I just prefer my leisure time to be spent with elves or zombies. You prefer art / dance. I have zero artistic interest and think those who do are rather high-brow so I'll look up to you!

Agree with this.

Yes. Good for concentration. Helps at work

Most people read the news, or read things on their phone, it’s still reading. I don’t think it necessarily makes you any more clever. You could watch dozens of film genres, watch hundreds of plays, visit thousands of art galleries to broaden your horizons. I could for example only read ‘chick-lit’, I wouldn’t say I would be more knowledgeable or superior to you in that respect.

I love reading, I read fiction every day. My husband isn’t as keen, but he’s definitely not less intelligent than me!

You can learn from lots of things - online sources, TV, movies, life experiences.

There is a unique aspect to reading, however - it's not purely about the content you are consuming, it's the cognitive and emotional benefits from the form of engagement with the text, the imagined world (whether in a novel, or understanding a new landscape within a non-fiction text). This is borne out in research.

In terms of learning (I work in this area), while e-resources have their place (online books, e-journal articles and so on), cognitively, we learn and retain information more effectively from physical texts, especially if we engage with them physically - highlighting key parts, writing notes etc.

However, being a reader doesn't make anyone 'superior'. I would argue it's beneficial for everyone to read, in some form, with some regularity. Some people will be avid readers, others less so, just like it's beneficial for everyone to be physically active in some way, but some people will be very sporty / active, and others only moderately so. None of the choices around how individuals spend their free time equates to being superior (or inferior if you don't).

I think being a reader gives you a good vocabulary and can give you information on a lot of different topics, depending on what you read.

Saying that - I’m an avid reader but I don’t think it makes me better or smarter than anybody else. I read because I love it and it’s my favourite thing to do.

It depends very much on what you read.

At school I had above my age group levels for vocabulary, reading, spelling and grammar. The lad next to me could barely read, and used to ask constantly ‘Bashful, how do you spell…..?’

I remember being off school for a week with tonsillitis and on the day I returned, (primary 6),we had a spelling test. Everyone had a few days to prepare, except for me. I got 100% (I thought it was really easy). I was praised but i felt confused as it wasn’t difficult to me. My weakness has always been maths. Arithmetic is fine but as soon as the alphabet and demonic symbols appear I just cannot be bothered.

My teacher attributed everything to me being an avid reader. I have always been a reader but I do think like any other pastime you either enjoy it or you don’t.