Deep Reading in a Digital Age
By Gwen Kaplan
I
n recent years, many of us find ourselves wondering
whether reading books is as common as it used to
be, whether it is equally important in a digital age, or
whether the act of “reading” has changed in quality with
the widespread adoption of digital reading. We may look
around and have a sense that reading is changing, but wonder
if data support what we believe. We may believe that reading
is valuable, but be unable to put into words why. We may
fear that our instincts are based on sentiment and nostalgia,
rather than on hard evidence.
Research affirms that reading longer pieces provides
significant benefits to the brain. These include the
development of complex thinking skills, empathy, and
distinct mental maps of information. When a reader tackles
an extended piece, several things happen. On a physical
level, studies find increased activity in regions of the brain
associated “with tricking the mind into thinking it is doing
something it is not.” 1 The brain works to build a sort of
simulation, helping the reader experience the material.
Fiction in particular strengthens our ability to predict and
understand the emotions, beliefs, and motivations of other
people - a concept known as theory of mind. 2 In other
words, reading can directly
support empathy.
Focusing
attention
on any
c omple x
writing, whether fiction or nonfiction, stimulates the brain
to activate prior knowledge, evaluate new information,
and solidify resulting insights into the memory far more
effectively than encountering tidbits in fleeting bursts
through other media. This active construction of knowledge
helps to explain another feature of longer texts, which is that
readers gain experience in evaluating nuance, consequences,
and deductions. On a small scale, this might entail the
interpretation of sentences with subordinate clauses or
specialized vocabulary. Pursuit of this fluency allows one
to capture easily overlooked details, recognize questions
that need to be addressed, and exercise working memory
that benefits all forms of communication. On a larger scale,
following a narrative arc from start to finish allows a reader
to consider the consequences of various decision points,
practice prediction, and gain insights that can be applied to
real-life scenarios.
Beyond analytical thinking, researchers are now finding
that leisure reading activates different regions of the brain
than focused reading. These differences go beyond the
activation of “pleasure centers” that researchers initially
predicted. 3 At this time, it seems reasonable to conclude that
there are substantial, material benefits to reading; that
long-form fiction and non-fiction offer meaningful
opportunities to cultivate
thinking skills and
empathy; and that
balancing types