2024-04-25 05:23:57
In an ultra-connected world and while paper books are losing ground, the impact of social media on reading, particularly among Generation Z, also known as “digital natives”, is sparking debate and reflection.
It is not uncommon to see a person scrolling social networks all day long. But, rather than stigmatizing screens, would it not be relevant to judiciously explore these platforms to nourish young people’s appetite for reading?
This is the opinion of anthropologist and writer Mohamed El Maazouz, member of the High Council for Audiovisual Communication: “social media can transform reading into a shared and interactive experience”.
To support this point, he mentions online book clubs on platforms like Facebook or Reddit which allow readers to share their impressions with others, notwithstanding physical distances, or even initiatives like BookTok (a TikTok sub-community focused on literature) to celebrate the book. Because, in the end, a work must be dissected, analyzed and discussed!
Another advanced example: Through hashtags like #Bookstagram and #BooksTwitter, book lovers can share reviews, excerpts, and recommendations, creating a virtual community of readers.
Deep reading atrophies
While technologies favor access to an uninterrupted flow of content, the deep reading experience atrophies under the influence of screens, the reader being inclined to go as fast as possible, to read diagonally, sliding or flicking scroll the scriptural content always in the same direction. What about the sensitivity or the spirit of the author?
“Reading online, often interrupted by notifications and other distractions, can prevent total immersion in a book,” underlines Mr. El Maazouz in an interview with MAP.
“The tendency toward constant multitasking, encouraged by social media, may also limit the ability to delve into long, complex texts,” he continues.
An observation shared by Mostapha Laouzi, president of the “Friends of Sociology” association, member of the International Association of Sociology. “Reading on digital media does not promote the appropriation of the essence of the book by the reader who risks being distracted by the messages received on the device,” he maintains.
However, Audible, Kindle and many other platforms demonstrate that the digital connection can, thanks to the multimodal reading experience they offer, enrich reading by offering synchronization functions between e-books and audiobooks. A way which, according to Mr. El Maazouz, “can keep the reader engaged”.
Reading is no longer synonymous with pleasure
Some argue that young people still read, but read less for pleasure. This may not be a so-called “legitimate” reading in the sense that French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu means, but the practice itself continues to exist among Generation Z.
Reading no longer seems to be just about reading classic literature, but about deciphering any text from which meaning can be derived.
In the eyes of Mr. Laouzi, “a paper book is a singular pleasure, full of emotions, but you still have to choose the right one.” This researcher, involved in the creation of several reading clubs in Morocco, stigmatizes the ambient mediocrity carried by the surge of social media, which often gives pride of place to books devoid of any depth.
It would be a truism to assert that young people today far prefer the visual to the lines of book pages and the smell of ink. “For example, if you publish a blog article that raises an important question, you will have 20 or 30 reactions, compared to more than a hundred if you publish a photo,” he says.
Digital technology has also changed the way we read: young people’s reading sequences are shorter, often linked to their written exchanges on the Internet, and therefore very linked to sociability.
However, reading a book is, by definition, a solitary activity, long, tedious and conducive to deep reflection.
Reading, ultimately, is like cycling…
Reading, like cycling, cannot be forgotten. Once acquired, it becomes an intrinsic practice for the individual, especially if immersion takes place from early childhood.
In order to create the trigger, Mr. Laouzi insists on the choice of book, especially when it comes to this first immersion. Novels generally stimulate the memory and imagination and make reading enjoyable for the novice reader.
He recommends a collection of authors from different literary schools, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Najib Mahfouz, Tayeb Salih, Mohamed Zafzaf, Patrick Modiano, Ernest Hemingway and Mikhail Bulgakov.
To cultivate this passion for reading, you have to “read everywhere, all the time,” he maintains. “What does it matter for a man to read in the noise, the act of reading itself isolates him. His soul escapes to other skies, is enriched, enlarged..”
While it is true that each click is an opportunity to dive into the infinite universe of words, the richness of the book remains unparalleled. What if, in this digital tidal wave, young people would one day find the thread of a story that reconnects them to the very essence of reading?
2024-04-25 05:23:57