You know how there are certain things that we don't think about often, but the moment we do, it sparks something in us, maybe a reaction or an emotion? Well, that's how I feel when I think about the topic of the last time I read a physical book.
Once upon a time I used to be a kid who enjoyed reading novels and short stories. I remember how I would use my pocket money to buy short stories on my way to high school, and these were stories with dumb titles like The Wicked Stepmother and the like. But then I got lucky, and I found out my elder brother had some novels that had no covers and were literally falling apart.
I would spend weeks reading those, and when I was finally done, I eventually got a phone of my own and discovered a website where I could get access to every and any book online. I tried remembering the name of that website a few days ago, but I couldn't; that is how long it has been since I last visited the site.
Well, discovering that site was a blessing for me and also the beginning of my journey with reading books from authors like Dan Brown, John Grisham, Agatha Christie, and the rest. But as time went on, I slowly began to lose interest in reading.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that I got into the university and was forced to read physics and mathematics textbooks that weren't interesting to read, and all of a sudden I just hated the whole idea of reading in general. And that was it; the boy who fell in love with reading suddenly fell out of love with it, and sadly, ever since I graduated from school, I don't think I've ever picked up a book to read.
I may have read a few titles here and there, but never the full content in the book itself, because it's now tiring for me to do so.
Aside from the physics textbook trauma, another thing I feel is the problem is the short attention span that a lot of youths are now being plagued with, and of course it has to do with social media like TikTok and Facebook Reels, where we now get exhausted whenever we see a video longer than a minute.
The same issue doesn't only affect my reading but also when I'm seeing movies too. I get tired and would occasionally pause the movie to go do something else just so that I don't feel miserable.
It's messed up, but I guess this is my reality now. I only read when I absolutely have to.
Haha, I feel this so much! TikTok and Reels have ruined my attention span too. Like it's very distracting.