Steven Symes

Reading books is a powerful movement, but it’s one that’s far too rare these days. Instead, people are more apt to watch videos or play games on their phone.

During a recent visit to my alma matter, BYU, I happened across a display of art pieces submitted for a contest. Done by current students and alumni, many were impressive. However, one particular piece portraying the power of reading books really struck me.

Called A Different Glow, the graphite pencil drawing by Dylanne Smith depicts a woman riding on the subway. She’s all aglow thanks to the printed book in her hand as she basks in the knowledge contained within. Even more striking is how she’s flanked by people who are engrossed in their phone screens while enshrouded in relative darkness.

As the description accompanying the drawing points out, it’s ironic since the phone screens put off a glow. However, it’s a false light.

I remember back when the internet was still in its early stages of growth. I got into a vigorous debate with a friend who claimed books would be replaced by online books, something which later was pushed heavily by publishers trying to innovate. While devices like Amazon’s Kindle are still around, they have yet to replace all printed books and likely never will.

What’s more, the vast majority of information traded on the internet isn’t out of books. Instead, these days the hot commodity are short form videos. While there can be some insightful knowledge in those, I would say the vast majority are either silly if not full of harmful, half-baked ideas. Those who watch them on the regular are training their brains to think shallowly. Short form videos are like potato chips: satisfying to consume, but not nourishing in the least. And many people in all age groups are subsisting almost solely on them.

Interestingly enough, on my way back home, I sat behind a teenage girl on the plane. Before takeoff, she consumed at least thirty short videos. I’m sure she watched many more before I boarded. How many does she watch in a day? I shudder at the thought.

Conversely, how many books does that girl consume in a year? According to YouGuv, about forty percent of Americans didn’t read any books in 2025. The median American read two books. In the meantime, SQ Magazine says the average American adult spends 45 to 60 minutes a day watching short videos!

What would this world be like if everyone were a regular reader of books? After all, when you take the time to read through pages and pages of an author’s thoughts, you realize that some ideas can’t be expressed in thirty seconds or less. You understand many things in life are more complex than they might appear on the surface. I would even argue that reading would make you more empathetic to others since you spend significant time understanding another’s viewpoint, something that interestingly enough is backed up by scientific inquiry.

But consuming short vides on your phone is so much easier. After all, it requires virtually no effort. You just whip out the device you always have on you, open your social media platform of choice, and mindlessly doomscroll through the never-ending array of nonsense. Getting sucked into it is simple, but getting out of the habit once you’ve built it is difficult, to say the least.

I would encourage everyone to make a goal to read a certain number of books per month or at least per year. And shoot for well above the average of two annually, because honestly that’s pathetic. Stretch yourself, read things that broaden your knowledge and you might find your interests and understanding expanding as a result.

Images via BYU