This article was published in 2015, and read like a conversation to oneself.  Hugh Maguire made some very valid points about the affect the digital world has on our brain and how distracted from books people have (potentially) become.  Maguire refers to the dopamine response we received with the refresh button on email, the scrolling through FB feeds or even the lure of youtube.  

As I read this I could relate, I can be easily distracted by my phone and call it procrastination.  My husband will read articles on end from his phone.  I have a tween and have just embarked on the journey with a new teenager, need I say more?  I am fortunate enough though that my two daughters love reading and prefer physical books.  My husband hasn’t picked up a book in at least a year, but that doesn’t meant to say he doesn’t love to read – life is different in the digital world.  

As for myself, I try hard to read physical books as much as possible but studying online turns me off the screen or the physical act of reading.  During this time I have turned to audiobooks.  I must admit that my mind does wander – thank goodness for the back 30 seconds button.  I also track my reading through GoodReads, which gives me my own little satisfaction of hitting ‘I’m Finished’ when updating my progress.  

I promise this post has a point.  This the year 2020 has delivered everyone a mighty blow, which for me, and those close to me, one of mass distraction.  In the early days of the pandemic, we were barraged with updates and statistics, certainly generating a lot of distraction.  I truly thought that my subconscious was constantly processing something, or at least is on observation alert – you know, thinking “am I one Llama away from that person?”.  Working from home has also affected energy, motivation and attention for some of my friends.  From our conversations, with people around me, the pandemic had caused exhaustion possibly from just thinking, some finding it devastating to have nothing left to spend time with a book – a favoured pastime.  Leaving Maguire’s blog still relevant 5 years later for other reasons. 

Please note I know this isn’t the case for everyone and we have all found our own way to cope with the unknown of the pandemic.  #weareallinthistogether.

 

References

McGuire, Hugh,(2015, April 22). Why can’t we read anymore? Can books save us from what digital does to our brain? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@hughmcguire/why-can-t-we-read-anymore-503c38c131fe