I first discussed reading online in a post called swallowing without chewing, way back in September. I spent this last weekend trying to dive nose deep into a novel, and thought it an apt time to revisit those words.
When I first started reading online, I allowed my eyes to gracefully bob across every set of syllables. Not anymore. Now I gobble as quickly as I can, as though words were the last hot waffles coming from a kitchen only two minutes shy of closing.
It’s only when reading online. I couldn’t ever imagine reading a book in such a manner.
Can you? Really?
For me, the difference is day and night. A book isn’t something to barrel through without looking. It’s a first date; meandering, musing and mindful. Reading online is like racing home during rush hour.
When I crack the back of a novel’s spine, I long to get lost in the story.
When I lift the lid of my laptop, I expect to consume specifics, digesting data like a famished wolverine, swallowing without chewing as I bounce from one blog to the next in a deranged dash against myself to see how quickly I can consume the copious amounts of text.
I am not condemning this conduct. A large part of my learning takes place while I’m reading online, and I’m certain I fall to sleep slightly smarter than when I woke nearly every morning, but it would be a fact ofmy ow fiction if I were to say I wasn’t brushing off a chill as I pondered the information overload my children will be staring down in another ten years.
What will reading online be like for them? Witness the evolution of just a few scant years. A healthy portion of kids just off to college have no recall of life before our online ubiquity, what will it be like for those in diapers now?
My hopes climb the sky.
I believe there is a major sea change sitting just beyond the bend. Our educational institutions will soon wake up and realize they are teaching in a way that was out of date back when I was sitting at the back of the class designing ways to torment my teachers.
The web is still in diapers. Together, we share the task of raising it. As we shape an alternate horizon, so we shape ourselves. My children see me staring at the screen of my laptop while I’m reading online, but I make sure, at least once a day, they also see me with a book in my hands and a satisfied smile sitting on my face.
The internet is astounding and reading online a joy, but we must never abandon the road that brought it to us.
Writer Dad
Sean Platt is a writer living in Long Beach and creative blogger.
About Sean Platt
Alik: That’s awesome to hear, Alik. I’m glad the reverse has been true for you.
Kwek: I think it’s infinitely more comfortable to read a book, just not nearly as convenient (for me right now). My eyes are never as tired.
Tammy: No doubt, it is all about balance.
Maya: Thanks for telling me about growing up, Maya. That’s really interesting. When I was little, my parents had a flower shop next to a bookstore. I used to spend entire afternoons in the bookstore getting lost in words. I’d probably be a different person today without such easy access.
Ruth: That’s true, Ruth. Successful blogging calls for reading the material of others, and that is most often morsels rather than meals (well said). I’ve been trying to be better, and am halfway through my third book of the year, so I think I’m doing well.
Bamboo: You’re awesome, Bamboo. Hats off. i’ve started following far less blogs myself because, I too, want to start absorbing every word rather than simply allowing them to fall in front of my eyes.
Lisa: I couldn’t agree more. It’s sad with the amount of quality literature available, we’re still fixed on the same old same old. I love the classics, but if I had been exposed to only them, I wouldn’t ever have been the reader, or the writer, that i am today.
Randi: Very true. Books are far more tangible than online text is. For now. I can only imagine what’s just past the furthest horizon we can see, but I have a feeling they’ll find a way to add a more tactile experience to online reading.
Patricia: Sigh. The Kindle never worked out, but I’m looking forward to maybe getting one by the holidays this year. Even at its best, I don’t think the technology’s there yet, but I think it will be soon.
Kristin: I’d never heard Chuck say that, but I love it! It’s true to the core. I have those two types of reading myself. I never curl up with my laptop. I would call myself a sit back writer on a sit forward writing device as well.
Alik: That’s awesome to hear, Alik. I’m glad the reverse has been true for you.
Kwek: I think it’s infinitely more comfortable to read a book, just not nearly as convenient (for me right now). My eyes are never as tired.
Tammy: No doubt, it is all about balance.
Maya: Thanks for telling me about growing up, Maya. That’s really interesting. When I was little, my parents had a flower shop next to a bookstore. I used to spend entire afternoons in the bookstore getting lost in words. I’d probably be a different person today without such easy access.
Ruth: That’s true, Ruth. Successful blogging calls for reading the material of others, and that is most often morsels rather than meals (well said). I’ve been trying to be better, and am halfway through my third book of the year, so I think I’m doing well.
Bamboo: You’re awesome, Bamboo. Hats off. i’ve started following far less blogs myself because, I too, want to start absorbing every word rather than simply allowing them to fall in front of my eyes.
Lisa: I couldn’t agree more. It’s sad with the amount of quality literature available, we’re still fixed on the same old same old. I love the classics, but if I had been exposed to only them, I wouldn’t ever have been the reader, or the writer, that i am today.
Randi: Very true. Books are far more tangible than online text is. For now. I can only imagine what’s just past the furthest horizon we can see, but I have a feeling they’ll find a way to add a more tactile experience to online reading.
Patricia: Sigh. The Kindle never worked out, but I’m looking forward to maybe getting one by the holidays this year. Even at its best, I don’t think the technology’s there yet, but I think it will be soon.
Kristin: I’d never heard Chuck say that, but I love it! It’s true to the core. I have those two types of reading myself. I never curl up with my laptop. I would call myself a sit back writer on a sit forward writing device as well.
Reading online is difficult to do comfortably, I find. With a book, you can lay on your bed, sit in any room, sit in a park or cafe, sit on the toilet. Can’t do that with the computer, well, not with mine, anyway.
There is also the way we use computers to consider. We are used to BROWSING, not necessarily reading. We surf the web with 20 windows open, CTRL Tab jumping from one to another. When you are used to using a medium one way, the habit carries over to sites rich with text.
Then of course, reading on a screen can be tiresome and an eye strain. I’d love to get a Kindle and try that out, it seems to offer the best of both worlds, but I’ll have to wait till its in my price range.
Very thought provoking post, Sean.
And oh yeah, a VERY subtle diaper reference :)
Reading online is difficult to do comfortably, I find. With a book, you can lay on your bed, sit in any room, sit in a park or cafe, sit on the toilet. Can’t do that with the computer, well, not with mine, anyway.
There is also the way we use computers to consider. We are used to BROWSING, not necessarily reading. We surf the web with 20 windows open, CTRL Tab jumping from one to another. When you are used to using a medium one way, the habit carries over to sites rich with text.
Then of course, reading on a screen can be tiresome and an eye strain. I’d love to get a Kindle and try that out, it seems to offer the best of both worlds, but I’ll have to wait till its in my price range.
Very thought provoking post, Sean.
And oh yeah, a VERY subtle diaper reference :)
I would suggest that its all under the banner of Progress. We will never move forward if we stand still , but its always a comforting to take a step backwards and regard that which is stylistically reassuring and of intrinsic value. Music downloads give us the same melody and lyrics – but I like to put the original vinyl LP on every now and then. As I sit at my PC in my Ikea desk chair I can see my Eames Design Classic chair out of the corner of my eye – it makes me smile. I love being able to take a photo and email it to a friend 3000 miles away in seconds, but i still enjoy the feel and satisfaction of handling a 70s Nikon Nikkormat . Lets move forward and embrace technological advances , but lets also appreciate their beginnings.
I would suggest that its all under the banner of Progress. We will never move forward if we stand still , but its always a comforting to take a step backwards and regard that which is stylistically reassuring and of intrinsic value. Music downloads give us the same melody and lyrics – but I like to put the original vinyl LP on every now and then. As I sit at my PC in my Ikea desk chair I can see my Eames Design Classic chair out of the corner of my eye – it makes me smile. I love being able to take a photo and email it to a friend 3000 miles away in seconds, but i still enjoy the feel and satisfaction of handling a 70s Nikon Nikkormat . Lets move forward and embrace technological advances , but lets also appreciate their beginnings.
Dave: Do you think the two will ever merge? Do you think computers will become more readable, for lack of a better word. I hear the Kindle’s pretty cool as well, but do you think that maybe it’s just the beginning of something we have not yet thought of?
Peter: Maybe my favorite comment in the thread, Peter. Thanks.
Dave: Do you think the two will ever merge? Do you think computers will become more readable, for lack of a better word. I hear the Kindle’s pretty cool as well, but do you think that maybe it’s just the beginning of something we have not yet thought of?
Peter: Maybe my favorite comment in the thread, Peter. Thanks.