Where to read

An article in the New York Times last week addressed the issue of reading and the Internet. Some experts claim the Internet hinders reading levels. Others claim it doesn’t because the Internet requires at least some form of reading, unlike other types of electronic media.

However, these experts seem to miss the point. It’s not the medium people use, it’s the content they read which can either hinder or increase a person’s reading level.
One main difference the article mentions is that books have a beginning, middle and end, which is determined by the author. On the Internet, users create their own beginnings, middles and ends using multiple sources.

Book advocates negatively claim Internet users skim through text, pictures and video. However, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. I see nothing wrong with reading about Zeus’ father Kronos, then heading over to Google to see someone else’s interpretation of it, then going to YouTube to watch a short clip about it as well. Users can effortlessly acquire virtually any information they wish (However, they must be careful of their sources).

But while the Internet can provide short blurbs of information, it will never allow someone to experience a time or place like literature can. I can learn about Spain and bullfighting from Wikipedia, but if I want a visceral experience I should pick up a copy of “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemingway instead.

The discussion should not be about which medium is better, or whether the Internet is lowering people’s intelligence. It should be about how we can embrace both mediums’ potential when they are used together.

It is pointless to condemn the Internet as a place people go to kill time. Instead, it might be more helpful to show people how to use the Internet to its full capacity. Both books and the Internet can either stimulate or diminish a person’s intelligence. It is the content the reader chooses to read, not the medium. Both mediums have their positives and negatives.

The Internet has a wide range of options, from scholarly journals to our favorite celebrity gossip bloggers like Perez Hilton. Books are not that different. There exist thought-provoking authors like Kurt Vonnegut, but on the other end of the spectrum we have authors like Dan Brown. But what’s so bad about picking and choosing from both ends of the spectrum within both mediums? It’s nice to have something mindless and relaxing to read, whether it’s a cheap trashy romance novel or your favorite Internet
forum.

Overall, however, I have to side with those favoring books over the Internet. Reading a novel or a work of nonfiction is much more intellectually stimulating, inspiring and worthwhile than reading blurbs on the Internet for hours at a time.

Yes, the Internet can provide a wealth of information, but for that real beneficial experience of reading, you need to pick up a book. But hey, at least people are reading.