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Why Smartphones Made Reading Blogs and Books Such a Challenge

Many people joke about reading books. If you find yourself in the midst of people who can’t take reading a book seriously and constantly make fun of it, it is time to find yourself a different group.

You think people don’t read books, but many do. And they read a lot of books! Only you need to find these people out of your comfort zone, as most often they are not addicted to social media as many people out there.

The majority of people who say they don’t read books say they at least read blogs. However, there is a fundamental difference between the two. Of course, blogs are read online and books are tangible items you hold in your hands. Nonetheless, with the Amazon Kindle people read books on a device, on a screen! So in that sense, reading books and blogs is pretty similar.

There is another fundamental difference between the two, and that is its environment. When you read a blog, your mind has to work twice as hard to concentrate than when reading a book. Why is that you wonder?

Most blogs show many other elements on their web pages. There are CTA’s (click to actions), buttons, links, images, menus, GIFs, and ads that are recognized by your subconscious mind. Then there are the distractions in the browser itself, like open tabs that show new notifications, and programs that are open on your laptop or computer.

So while you are reading the blog, your mind at the same time tries its best not to become distracted. It uses extra energy to remain focused and to ignore the above elements. The skill of deep reading is harder to apply when reading a blog, although most of the time people skim through blogs anyway. This difficulty of focus may be very well one of the key reasons.

When you read a book, there are no distractions. In a book (and also with the Kindle device) there is only text. Deep focus is easier to achieve since the only thing you will expect is text. There are no other elements that the mind needs to fight to ignore. The only distractions that may exist are cats meowing outside, hearing your doorbell or hearing a plane flying over your house.

Unfortunately, mankind is getting worse at achieving deep focus. People still read books but not as many as 50 years ago. Our minds are scattered and all over the place. Deep focus becomes more difficult and our attention span has shockingly shortened. We have our smartphones to thank for.

Start reading books again. Not only do we recommend the skill of reading to learn more about specific topics, but also to learn how to focus again, to improve your attention span. This will be worthwhile for many other activities that require focus. Be in control of your awareness, and allow it to remain in one place for a significant amount of time.