snek_boiAug 12, 2023

The reason the internet can hook us more than a book is that the internet responds to us. If we get tired, we can dumb down our surfing, but dumbing down what you're reading is harder.

https://lemmy.ml/post/3222537

The reason the internet can hook us more than a book is that the internet responds to us. If we get tired, we can dumb down our surfing, but dumbing down what you're reading is harder. - Lemmy

Dumbing down doesn’t mean “philosophy versus Call of Duty”. It just means what’s intuitive versus what takes conscious effort. Heck, Call of Duty could demand conscious effort.

Show threadNotYourSocialWorkerAug 12, 2023
You can’t? I find it to be a world of difference between reading a scientific reports and a youth novel for instance. Or some kind of classical literature compared to a comic book.
Show threadRGB3x3

You can, but not in the moment. You have to pick up a different book to do that and most people don’t read more than one book concurrently. So you just put the book down and do something else.

Whereas on the internet, you can very quickly flip to comment threads if you get tired of reading articles.

Aug 12, 2023 at 9:32amWeb
Show threadnewIdentityAug 12, 2023
You can do that when you’re reading with a tablet, eReader or Phone
Show threadNotYourSocialWorkerAug 12, 2023
Yes I agree, that’s what too often happen to me. Plus I can read a phone without using any hands. But op talked about dumbing down the reading and if they meant the medium, well there’s lots of things you can read on the internet as well.
Show threadPuzzle_Sluts_4EverAug 13, 2023

You are figuratively reading multiple “books” already. You don’t say “Well, no Gundam message boards for a few days because I want to go all in on this celebrity gossip blog”.

And same with books. I won’t read two large doorstopper novels at the same time. But I will generally have some pulp sci-fi or fantasy and then a non-fiction or technical book on my kindle. Which one I read depends on my mood.