Category: Personal growth and development

The bookshops are empty and dusty, but the cinemas and comedy halls are overflowing. The books are closed, but the screens are beaming. The eyes are wide open, but the brain is gradually falling into a slumber. Reason has been imprisoned, but emotions are on rampage. The world is going through a rapid evolution of sorts.  It has become one big eyeball without brains. It only sees but cannot understand. It only feels but cannot ground the signal in reason. This is the tragedy of an age that lives on the screen – television screen, computer screen, mobile phone screen.

The mobile technology has definitely caused a paradigm shift which has metamorphosed into a pandemic shift. We grew up reading books. This generation is growing up dreaming and drooling over screens. Even adults now clutch onto mobile devices with the tenacity of an infant guarding her plastic toys. People now generally spend a disproportionate amount of their day watching video. They would rather watch a thousand videos than read a chapter of a book. In an age ruled by screens, where most knowledge is delivered through short videos, visual slides, and voice notes, we’re beginning to treat reading like an optional luxury. And yet, something deep within me resists this shift — not from nostalgia, but from a growing conviction. It’s not just a stylistic preference. It’s a neurological, psychological, and even moral concern. It transcends the periphery of theory into the sacred realms of science, experience and observation.

1. The Brain on Books vs. Screens

Let’s begin with the brain. Reading is not a passive activity — it’s an active, energy-consuming process involving multiple complex regions of the brain. Reading engages several parts of the brain that facilitate critical thinking while watching of videos adulterates the learning process by subtly  stimulating the emotional region of the brain – the amygdala. Studies using fMRI confirm that reading — especially deep reading — is mentally taxing and builds cognitive stamina, focus, and abstract reasoning. On the contrary, the sights and sounds built into videos facilitate quicker absorption of information by the brain with minimal efforts. They engage more of the limbic areas (emotion) but less of the frontal lobes (reasoning) thus lowering internal visualization, analysis and synthesis of information.

Activity	Key Brain Regions Activated	Cognitive Outcome
Reading	Visual Word Form Area (VWFA), Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, Prefrontal Cortex, Angular Gyrus	Deep comprehension, memory integration, critical reasoning
Watching Video	Occipital Cortex, Auditory Cortex, Amygdala, Default Mode Network	Passive absorption, emotion-based reaction, reduced analytical effort

Research using fMRI scans shows that children who read more have stronger connectivity between the VWFA and the brain’s language and executive function areas. In contrast, excessive screen time is correlated with weakened white matter in those same regions — especially those tied to language and self-regulation. The motive here is not to totally write off watching of movies for entertainment or educational purposes. I believe that videos are a powerful learning aid when used to augment but not substitute reading. The catch however, is that inordinate use of visual media cultivates mental passivity. It short-circuits the brain’s deep-learning circuits, weakens cognitive stamina, and replaces reflection with reflex. Visual aids essentially mimic a feeding bottle or spoon-feeding syndrome where partly digested food is feed directly into the intestine of an infant without engaging the tongue and teeth. Videos and visual aids impair deep and long-term learning by reducing cognitive ability, decreasing attention span, weakening of imagination and internal visualization in addition to reducing shallow processing. What we gain in speed, we often lose in substance.

Reading builds the mental scaffolding for structured thought. Watching lets that scaffolding sit unused.

2. The Passivity of Watching: Recline and Decline

Have you noticed that people often watch videos lying down? Reclining on a couch or bed, mentally drifting, barely blinking? That’s not a coincidence. When the body reclines, the brain receives a clear signal: ‘It’s time to rest.’ The posture we choose becomes the posture of our mind. Sit up, and we signal readiness. Recline, and we invite passivity. That’s why real learning rarely happens when we’re lying down. But unfortunately, entertainment and educational visual media naturally invite us to “relax and enjoy” or “learn with fun”. Both messages send signals to the brain to slow down mental activity.

Watching encourages passivity. Videos present pre-processed imagery, tone, pace, and even emotion. There is little left for the viewer to construct or wrestle with. Studies have shown that students who frequently consume visual media score low on reading comprehension and delayed recall. It has also been reported that heavy screen viewers manifest reduced working memory activation.

Reading is the opposite. You sit up. You process. You imagine. You ask questions. It challenges your imagination and you challenge the validity of the information. Your intellect wrestles to construct a full picture of the message in the text. A man watching a video has little control over the rate at which information is being transmitted. He may hit the pause or replay button but we all know how inconveniencing that can be. On the other hand, a book is under the full control of the reader, thus giving them the leverage to pause, think deeply and reflect before continuing. What does the book do? It simply sits on the table waiting for the reader to continue or turn the next page. This is the level of engagement that makes knowledge to permeate and consolidate in the mind. It is usually in the pauses that inspiration is birthed. Ever heard of the saying “reading maketh a full man?” This concept in rooted in Indian tradition which believes that reading builds character and intellect. The same cannot be said of overindulgence in watching videos. If anything, it can be said that watching videos reduces men to babies.

Trait	Reading	Video Watching
Mental Effort	High	Low to moderate
Depth of Processing	Deep	Often shallow
Retention	Long-term	Shorter-term
Emotional Influence	Controlled by reader	Often manipulated by pacing & music
Builds Discipline?	Yes	Rarely

The more we replace reading with watching, the more we risk training a generation of minds that can consume but not construct; react but not reflect; receive but not realize; absorb but not assimilate.

3. Moral and Social Dimensions

The repercussion of over-dependence on visual media and its gradual displacement of reading culture also extends to the social and moral domains. Reading cultivates a climate of inner stillness. It invites quiet, contemplation and judgment. Even in a room full of readers, you find a sacred hush — the outward sign of inward thought. In contrast, video-watching thrives amid chaos. A room of a hundred people watching separate screens feels louder, more fragmented, mentally unsettling and more emotionally volatile. A generation raised on reading tends to be reflective. A generation raised on flashing videos risks becoming restless, impulsive, and shaped more by image than by insight. Readers pause. They weigh. They apply reason and moral reflection to what they receive. Even when they are persuaded, the process is deliberate and often transformative.

Video, however, often bypasses that mental discipline. Its pace, music, and visuals stir emotion before reason has had its say. Even when you don’t agree with the narrative being pushed in a video, it still leaves its footprints on your subconscious mind, thus subtly influencing or weakening your convictions and slowly softening convictions or reshaping them in ways we don’t detect or would have consciously permitted. For example, most African traditional values have been eroded as a result of uncensored exposure to decadent western lifestyle propagated through movies.

A sharp contrast between how reading and watching videos affect morals and behaviours can be drawn using crime novels and crime movies. There is some evidence that violent visual media (like crime movies or TV) may increase aggressive behaviour or desensitization to violence, especially in vulnerable individuals. However, reading crime novels does not show the same effect — in fact, it often engages empathy, moral reasoning, and reflection. While both video and written content can influence thought, overwhelmingly visual media (films, games, and online videos) have been directly linked to violent criminal behaviour. The emotional immediacy and immersive nature of videos make them more likely to incite impulsive action, especially in unstable individuals. Reading, by contrast, tends to encourage reflection, delay, and distance — even when the material is dark or violent.

Video scenes tend to partially hijack the viewer’s mind to the extent that they sometimes begin to mentally participate in the acts being relayed. This is because the brain mirrors the action being watched especially in highly emotional or immersive situations. For instance, watching a football match involving your favourite club and reading a novel about the same game do not produce the same effect. The video version will engage your emotions more and can even induce a fever in you if your club loses. This exactly why some football fans do weird things while watching a game they are vested in. Common reactions include:

• Flinching when their team almost concedes
• Shouting “Shooooot!” and thrusting their legs forward
• Jerking their heads as if dodging a ball
• Even falling off chairs during penalty shootouts!

I am not a football fan, but I once watched a football match involving my country. My body temperature rose by several degrees during that episode, yet I could not stop watching. A book wouldn’t have caused me such trauma.

Behavior	Crime Movies	Crime Novels
📈 Increased aggression	Linked in multiple studies, especially in youths, impulsive individuals, or frequent viewers	No strong evidence of aggression increase
📉 Empathy erosion	Possible with repeated exposure to violent visuals	Rare; often enhances moral sensitivity
🔄 Mimicry of crime	Documented cases exist (e.g., “copycat crimes” tied to films or series)	Extremely rare from reading novels
📚 Cognitive stimulation	Low-moderate, mostly sensory	High: visualization, inference, judgment

What enters the soul unfiltered eventually becomes part of the soul. And the unfiltered flood of images that defines our era may be forming not just our thoughts — but our character

4. Neuroscience of Atrophy: Empirical Evidence

Only very few people understand the long-term damage inordinate watching of videos inflicts on people. On the other hand, almost everyone agrees, even without knowing why, that reading builds intellectual stamina, stimulates critical thinking and generates inspiration. Early exposure to books has been found to correlate with stronger brain connectivity, better school readiness, and higher long-term cognitive scores. There are parents who sedate their children with a high dose of videos until they become addicted to virtual alternatives. A good reading habit is an art of discipline that is gradually fading away, thus producing a generation that can hardly grasp complex issues let alone resolve them. Reading requires patience, persistence and focus. A book might take weeks to read, but it can be watched in two hours when condensed into a movie. One is like planting a tree which takes years to mature. But when it does, it is entrenched in the ground like a colossus. The other is like the emergence of the butterfly from the chrysalis – dazzling for a moment and then fading into oblivion. You may think of watching videos as sustaining a person on semi-digested liquid food and reading as serving someone a solid balanced diet.

So how exactly does watching videos affect the brain? The following scientific evidence should immediately convince any doubting Thomas of the superiority of reading to watching videos.

• A study published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that children exposed to more screen time had thinner cortexes in areas responsible for language and executive function.
• Another found that screen-heavy children had reduced white matter integrity in regions tied to reading and self-regulation.
• A 2020 study reported in Health.com found that adults who read regularly had better memory, cognitive flexibility, and even lived longer.
• EEG studies (electroencephalograms) show that during passive video watching, especially television, the brain produces more alpha waves — the same waves associated with relaxed, unfocused, or even drowsy states.
• Watching videos (especially YouTube, TikTok, or autoplay series) causes frequent dopamine surges. Over time, this leads to diminished reward sensitivity, less motivation for tasks that require effort (like reading or deep work) and a “lazy” cognitive state, even while the viewer feels entertained.

These aren’t minor differences. They’re structural. They literally reshape the brain.

Function	Enhanced by Reading	Impaired by Excessive Watching
Verbal Reasoning	✅ Yes	❌ Weakened
Abstract Thinking	✅ Yes	❌ Blunted
Focus and Attention Span	✅ Improved	❌ Reduced
Imagination and Simulation	✅ Engaged	❌ Outsourced to visuals
Emotional Regulation	✅ Strengthened	❌ Dysregulated by hyperstimulation

Watching may inform. But reading transforms.

5. Final Reflection: Why This Matters

There is no doubt that videos can support learning, especially when well-designed, but they do not replace the deep neural engagement required for mastery, critical reasoning, or long-term transformation. A society becomes shallow, reactionary, emotionally volatile, and less equipped to handle ambiguity. Reading is not just another format. It’s a workout for the mind. It’s a test of character. That’s why books still form the backbone of education, research, and even spiritual development. Should video triumph over reading, we risk raising generations of screen-fed zombies — hollowed minds, dulled hearts

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Reading is not just a habit; it is a virtue! It is not just a culture; it is curative! If we lose it, we don’t just become passive consumers. We become intellectually disarmed citizens of the Animal Farm!

Start reading again from today, and you will start living fully again!

Bibliography

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A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity. Social Science & Medicine, 164, 44–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.014

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People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making: An fMRI study. NeuroImage: Clinical, 41, 103312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2024.103312

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Association between screen media use and brain structure in children. JAMA Pediatrics, 173(9), 852–859. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1759

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Home reading environment and brain activation in preschool children listening to stories. Pediatrics, 136(3), 466–478. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-0359

5. Hutton, J. S., et al. (2019).
Associations between screen-based media use and brain white matter integrity in preschool-aged children. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(1), e193869. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3869

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7. Lillard, A. S., & Peterson, J. (2011).
The immediate impact of different types of television on young children’s executive function. Pediatrics, 128(4), 644–649. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2010-1919

8. Lin, M., Jiang, W., Xie, X., & Luo, Y. (2023).
Short-video addiction is associated with impaired executive function: Evidence from EEG and behavioral tasks. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 17, 1139400. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2023.1139400

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