Deep Reading

Don’t worry—it’s not going to be the next book title from FYI.  But lately I’ve seen a few articles and bits of research that have made me question whether I’m really reading anything any more.  I do read quite a bit, mind you, but I’ve noticed that it’s less and less books and more and more online articles, summaries, or blog posts about books, articles, and summaries.  Sometimes I even find myself reading posts summarizing other people’s summaries of summaries.

Can you relate?

Recent research is questioning the pros and cons of the impact of the googling of our brains on our ability to read.  Maryanne Wolf, developmental psychologist at Tufts University, says in this Atlantic article “We are not only what we read—we are how we read.”  Our online-obsessed press for efficiency and immediacy may be leaving us as shallow consumers who can decode information, but who fail to engage more complex mental abilities in our reading. The question is (rightly) being raised: are we losing the capacity for deep reading and contemplation?  Similarly, in our quest for deeper youth ministry, I think we have to seriously ask whether shallow reading might be compromising our own depth and the depth of what we offer our kids.

In other words, if deep reading is connected to deep thinking, what’s becoming of us?

My wife Missy is a deep reader.  She doesn’t skim books very effectively at all.  I give her a hard time about this, but actually she’s doing something I think I need to do more: allowing the stories and concepts to capture her attention and engage her imagination as well as her critical thinking.

Granted, we have to skim sometimes (maybe even most of the time) for sheer survival in the midst of our daily bombardment of information.  And there’s a lot of writing that really doesn’t deserve our deep attention.  But I’m wondering lately…how often does my brain need me to choose to instead sit and sip a book or article in place of hasty gulps of caffeinated “reading”?  Maybe I’d be better off if I read less quantity but read with more quality.  I’m convinced that my intake needs some more balance—how about you?

©2008 Fuller Youth Institute