Seniors driving increase in television time at the expense of reading

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Paperbackstash

That sounds like such fun. I enjoy reading books about books with the author's experience growing up and bonding over books with other people. I have no idea where I got my love of reading from, but glad it's there.

I'm sure I got it from my mom. She got me my first library card when I was just 3 yrs old. She created a monster when she did that because I have had a life time love affair with books. I'm now 48 and still reading some 45 yrs after I got that first library card.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by crich70

I'm sure I got it from my mom. She got me my first library card when I was just 3 yrs old. She created a monster when she did that because I have had a life time love affair with books. I'm now 48 and still reading some 45 yrs after I got that first library card.

Mine started when I was given a gift of an ongoing series* of children's books. At the time I got the first one, I treated the books like trophies rather than something to actually read. My mom got angry and said if I didn't start reading them, she'd cancel my subscription.

I picked up book one...and never stopped reading again. Often wondered if she regretted that gift. Especially ironic because she never has been much of a reader.

*The series was called "The Happy Hollisters". We let a neighbor's grandchildren borrow them, and we never got them back. I always wanted a change to revisit them as an adult. Ah well.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Mine started when I was given a gift of an ongoing series* of children's books. At the time I got the first one, I treated the books like trophies rather than something to actually read. My mom got angry and said if I didn't start reading them, she'd cancel my subscription.

I picked up book one...and never stopped reading again. Often wondered if she regretted that gift. Especially ironic because she never has been much of a reader.

*The series was called "The Happy Hollisters". We let a neighbor's grandchildren borrow them, and we never got them back. I always wanted a change to revisit them as an adult. Ah well.

I remember those! I probably read most of them through the library.

Editing to add that I just discovered there's a website https://thehappyhollisters.com

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

The series was called "The Happy Hollisters". We let a neighbor's grandchildren borrow them, and we never got them back. I always wanted a change to revisit them as an adult. Ah well.

What’s stopping you? The entire series is available as ebooks. Join KU and you can read them all for free .

[dandelioncottage]

Even if you don’t want to join KU, they give away one title free (almost) every Saturday.

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Hollist.../dp/B01IM29KAS

Originally Posted by HarryT

What’s stopping you? The entire series is available as ebooks. Join KU and you can read them all for free .

[william z]

Originally Posted by issybird

According to the Washington Post, the over-65 crowd is most responsible - and most at risk - from statistics that show that reading time is dropping as television time continues to climb, with implications for their well-being.

I'm not part of the demographic examined here; I also don't watch television at all, no doubt a major reason I read far more than the 15 minutes per day average for all Americans. Unfortunately the verbiage is mushy; what exactly do they mean by screentime? I do wish that I'd get caught up in the abyss that is the internet somewhat less, since it's mostly at the expense of reading time. I always feel somewhat disgruntled once I finish chasing a particular rabbit, because why?

But for all I think the article should have been better, I tend to agree with its premise and wonder why seniors don't read? They're the last lingering cohort of those who grew up reading for pleasure, from back in the days when there were only three networks and limited options. Especially now with options for digital reading which make reading accessible to those whose physical limitations might have prevented them from reading with enjoyment, or reading at all.

It is always a mistake to generalize too much. I am 79 and have always loved reading, and in my old age I read more than I did when I was younger simply because I have more time (ereaders were a Godsend for me). I hardly watch TV and don't spend much time on the internet except for reading the news, researching something, and looking for books or listening to music. Many young people don't read much and when they get old are not likely to read much either.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

I remember those! I probably read most of them through the library.

Editing to add that I just discovered there's a website https://thehappyhollisters.com

Originally Posted by HarryT

What’s stopping you? The entire series is available as ebooks. Join KU and you can read them all for free .

Originally Posted by dandelioncottage

Even if you don’t want to join KU, they give away one title free (almost) every Saturday.

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Hollist.../dp/B01IM29KAS

Thank you all! I bought the first one, and now snagged the 14th one for free. I had no idea they were being reissued. The last time I looked - and it was probably 5 or more years ago - they weren't available.

[Pulpmeister]

Is an e-reader "screen time"?

[Ripplinger]

How is sitting and being a couch potato watching TV any more detrimental to your well-being than sitting in the same spot and reading?

I suspect more attention grabbing by the article than much truth in it. Yes, people slow down when they get older, not because they want to, but the body just isn't as able as before. Sure, they might then spend the time watching TV. Watching TV didn't make their bodies old and weak though. Just as reading won't make them any stronger and more able to get up and do what they used to before all the aches and pains of old age set in.

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

Is an e-reader "screen time"?

Well, we might assume that it does promote "square eyeballs" which is what my parents would admonish me about getting when I watched too much TV.

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

How is sitting and being a couch potato watching TV any more detrimental to your well-being than sitting in the same spot and reading?

Watching TV or a movie is much more of a mentally passive activity than reading a book. If I were to compare reading vs TV I'd use reading magazines or tabloids, not books. Both magazines/tabloids and TV are more geared towards the lowest common denominator with quick and easy entertainment not requiring much thinking.

The other thing about movies and TV that's interesting, to me at least, is that with books you can have two different styles of story telling, the first person narrative and the third person narrative. With the first person narrative the story is told by the central character as they experience it. With the third person narrative the writer tells the story; with it they can jump to different characters, and they can describe what's going on in the minds of the different characters. A movie is like a first person narrative except that everything is seen through the eyes of the camera, and as with the first person narrative we don't learn about what the characters are thinking unless they say or do something.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

A movie is like a first person narrative except that everything is seen through the eyes of the camera, and as with the first person narrative we don't learn about what the characters are thinking unless they say or do something.

Documentaries are generally third person, in that they have a narrator describing what’s going on.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

Watching TV or a movie is much more of a mentally passive activity than reading a book.

I would say that depends pretty heavily on what is being watched and who is doing the watching (or what is being read and who's doing the reading). I won't speak for everybody, but there's stuff I watch on television where I am waaaaaay more mentally engaged than I am when reading certain books. I'm listening to conversations, incorporating the dialog into the plot, predicting outcomes, etc... . The notion that everyone is deadly focused, and concentrating on every word as it passes their eyes when reading a book, yet are merely staring cross-eyed and slack-jawed at the pretty colors on the idiot box is pure hogwash. I am just as mentally engaged when watching TV as I am when I'm reading a book. If I weren't, I would be watching it. I'm not into mindless entertainment in any form. I enjoy thinking.

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I won't speak for everybody, but there's stuff I watch on television where I am waaaaaay more mentally engaged than I am when reading certain books.

Well, I'm not saying that all books are deep and intellectually challenging.

While what you say is true, with a movie you're dragged along willy-nilly. If you're thinking and analyzing too much you're going to miss what's going on on the screen. With a book you can slow down or even stop reading.

There's rarely a movie (that's not a comedy) where I can't invariably see places where it had flaws in the logic, but I don't really think about them until after the movie is over. While watching it I'm too busy paying attention to do that sort of analysis.

And with a book you have to imagine what things look like or how they sound whereas with a movie it's all done for you. To me that's a big part of books being a less passive activity.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by lumpynose

And with a book you have to imagine what things look like or how they sound whereas with a movie it's all done for you. To me that's a big part of books being a less passive activity.

The biggest mistake readers who visualize all the passages they're reading make is in assuming that everyone reads that way. We don't all turn books into movies that are playing in our heads (an analogy I've always found to be ironically suspect, by the way). So I can assure you that there's nothing "being done for me" when I watch TV.