On reading books
I have read for almost all my schooling years. I have extensively read all novels I could get my hands on because I was told they boosted your vocab. I considered it a very noble (and fun!) thing to read books!
Even till the freshman year of my college, I loved reading books; though I switched from reading fiction to non-fiction, like Obama's autobiography and India After Gandhi.
But for the last 3 years, this hasn't been the case. I have slowly switched from reading books to watching YouTube. Watching YouTube, be it shorts or long-form content, has slowly been my source of both entertainment and education, as reading books took time and energy I didn't have.
But lately, I have been thinking differently. The argument that convinced me to switch was this video. The main argument presented is that our ability to comprehend long-winded arguments has become lower, as firstly, American debates used to be days long in Lincoln's time, compared to 1 hour per candidate after the advent of TV. Compounded with the effect of YouTube Shorts, one has to wonder if we'll be able to even form a coherent thought or if they will be forever broken down into smaller chunks.
After the seed had been planted, I began to think: what has had more impact on me? While watching videos did keep me up to date with the latest news, and some ideas that I got from videos cannot be denied (most from CGP Grey, or 2kliksphilip), the majority of things that changed my worldview or made me want to share an idea with others were undeniably books. Their arguments make an impression on my mind, an impression that I use to make real decisions in my life. They are the only things that augment how I approach life besides some gems of YouTube videos and, obviously, real-life incidents and advice.
So I began reading Discourses by Epictetus, mostly because rough Stoic ideas helped me get through the uncertainty of succeeding despite putting in the efforts for the past 4 months. The results? Almost magical. I began touting Epictetian Stoic philosophy to my friends and family, and even have been judging my decisions through this new lens.
Granted, perhaps this can't be sustained when I am too busy to get a sustained hour for reading; especially when I'm dog-tired from all the work (which makes even the juiciest text appear dry). I figure I'll make the most of the time I have had recently and try switching my medium of entertainment so that eventually, perhaps one day, I can just spend 20 minutes of that time lying down/meditating (without any stimulus) and put the remaining 20-ish minutes to read even a paragraph to enjoy and gain from a hobby I had long ditched.