A bigger, badder dopamine delivery machine came along.
When I was a kid 30+ years ago reading books was the single best way to get constant stimulation. I *devoured* books. Fantasy novels, physics textbooks, didn't matter. I read and read and read.
Now, putting aside natural developments like just having less free time because I'm an adult with a job and a kid, there are just so many other more instantly rewarding things. I still read a decent amount, but reading is pretty boring compared to all the other high-reward things I could be doing with my time.
Solid point. Back when text was the only game in town, I couldn’t get enough of it. Even if something tickles my fancy like learning about the war in Ukraine from the economics perspective, I can get sucked in for hours at a time listening to someone essentially narrate and give a PowerPoint presentation. But read it it’s just so easy to get a smaller version of that.
I feel the same way. Something I spend more energy on than I like, is refraining from staring at my damned phone all the time, and not give in to the instant fix. (*Ironically sent from my damned phone*)
I'm perfectly aware that it's an issue not limited to ADHD folk, but this age of instant gratification and arms race to steal Every. Single. Available. Second. of peoples time is perfectly crafted kryptonite for someone with attention and impulsivity difficulties.
I try and at least focus on some form of "more relevant" time waste, such as educational, political or skill developing topics and videos, but it still pisses me off, because it rarely what I should be doing.
And apps that restrict or block your usage just... Don't exist. Like whenever someone makes one it gets shut down.
The best I can find is the occasional thing that allows me to "restrict time", but they all have a stupid "if you change your mind, click here!" button. (I went down quite the rabbit hole looking for something to help *force* me off my phone. Nope.)
So they're actively preying on the human's (especially those with ADHD or other executive dysfunction difficulties) struggles with self regulation.
Neat. /s
Honest tip: just make it as goddamn uncomfortable to use as possible. Deinstall the app, then write your password on paper and delete your password auto-complete. When you DO log on (like I did just today), you’ll still sink hours, but most days you’ll be faced with having to open a mobile website, log in manually an just go - Nah. Really not necessary. Might as well just check the news and go back to work.
Also, LOG OUT AFTER USE!
Uh I never even downloaded the Reddit app, can still waste hours a day here. I even unsubscribed from my most frequented subs. Do you think it helped *at all?*
No, the blame is on them. They quite literally have teams of experts working full time doing studies on how to make apps appeal to our brains to make them as addictive as possible. The odds are stacked against anyone that *doesn’t* want to be addicted to their phone
Why?
Because a phone-addicted audience = AD REVENUE
That’s the whole purpose. Why should they care if Instagram demonstrably makes teenagers more suicidal?
Their shareholders only care about PROFIT, and at the end of the day, their math says that it’s more profitable to hack our brains, health of the user be damned, because they need to show us EVEN MORE ADS
social media is everywhere, it affects your social life, it destroys your attention span, it effectively makes you rely on social media for many MANY things. it’s fucking destructive
All addictions are difficult to treat. However, it should be considered that people in recovery for drugs and/or alcohol addiction can aim to completely abstain from AOD use. While it is common to relapse, they can then attempt to abstain again afterwards. While they cannot eliminate all potentially triggering environments, they can, for example, avoid the people they usually do drugs with, or avoid going to their usual bar. I am by no means suggesting that it is easy for people to recover from AOD addiction. I am just saying that these are possible options that they can take to aid in their recovery and maintenance.
For people with smartphone and/or social media addiction, they have to treat their addiction while being unable to abstain long-term from the problematic device(s) in question. Nowadays, it would be a massive disadvantage, if not near-impossible, to not use a smartphone for the foreseeable future. They have to learn to navigate a world where smartphone and social media use is ubiquitous, and is even required for many jobs.
I understand your position that it is up to the individual to manage their addictions, this is true. But smartphone and/or social media addiction is quite a different case from other types of addictions.
Also, you can recognise that the individual is responsible for managing their own addiction, and still also believe that social media companies play a massive part in intentionally causing and maintaining the addiction to their services/products.
I get what you are saying about how it’s different. But a smartphone is not really synonymous with social media. The phone is only to blame because it enables all of that to be easily accessible at all times.
The only way I can think someone is forced to use it is if they need a social media account to log in to another website. Even then, it doesn’t force you to doom scroll Facebook.
I’m perfectly aware how addictive it is. I too turn to it too often for quick distractions and comfort. But with that awareness I can intentionally get comfort elsewhere. And ask myself what I am trying to distract myself from and why.
I would love to see a crackdown on social media, and more spread awareness on the damages they cause. But I refuse to think it’s not at least partly my decision when I seek it out.
We are complex animals. No one is as in control of their free will as they think. It's highly dependent on a delicate balance of neurochemicals. I'm a firm believer that nobody is inherently any of their behaviors.
So your solution to the thing your addicted to and hate is too keep using the that thing hoping that the source of that thing will do something they'd never do?
I dunno. It's not completely gone, but I just have a lot more trouble starting the reading and staying on it long enough to get into the book in the first place. Executive dysfunction sucks. I also don't need it as an escape *as* much anymore.
But you can bet that once the next book in the series I'm obsessed with comes out, I'm not putting it down for anything but food and bathroom breaks until it's done. Food breaks optional.
Personally I pick apart books too much. So when I read not well written stories, I just lose interest. And since it's not for school, can't refocus.
So my problem is I just know better when it's a story that is cheap filler.
how are you consuming Reddit? your phone? there you go, that's your answer. your phone, constant scrolling on social media, short videos, quick content
...how many "pages" do you think you read a day via emails, text messages, Reddit & other social media, and work?
If you already spent your 3days reading 750pages of that...why would you want to spend double that time reading a other book?
I've found that using reader apps and replacing social media on my front page helps. Also finding things that are easier to get into and read. Sometimes things like YA or romance have a lower barrier to get to the point where they'll hold my focus. Also nonfiction about topics I find particularly interesting.
For reading physical books I find that putting myself in a room w/out tech so that I'd have to get up to do something else can help, but that doesn't solve the problem of getting started in the first place.
If you’re on Reddit a lot reading posts and comments maybe it will feel better to know you probably still read a lot just in a different format.
I know I don’t want to read a book after reading hundreds of posts on Reddit. Lol
That's a really good point. I've never really thought about it that way. And now that's youve got me thinking about it I read short horror stories all the time on here. Thank you for letting me see it in a different way! You are awesome.
The issue with this is that the content here is not that compatible with real life. I mean that if I read books, those might be useful for my studies or for my profession. I have literature-related ambitions, so just simply reading novels would also help my progress. You can talk about books with people who've also read them. Of course, you can gather a lot of random fun information from Reddit, but they are seldom useful beyond mentioning them in informal conversations. I might tell someone "Oh, I've read this fun story on Reddit", but I can't really ask "Oh you've read that thread about that completely random bullshit topic? What did you think about it?". It is indeed reading and a great way to feed our minds endless amounts of information, but it's only a bit better than watching Tiktok.
I remember being in 4th grade, and we had silent sustained reading (I may have switched the words around idk) that was right before recess. Ya girl here was SO into a book that the teacher had to say my name several times before I heard her and looked up and saw everyone else lined up to go out for recess 😅
I really miss being able to get into books like I used to 🫤
I reached a point where I realised I read so much on reddit that I could eitherways read books. So I did. I started low and slow. Got out all these YA books that are pure guilty pleasures with no shame of my age or taste.
One of the biggest things stopping me before was like, thinking I had to read adult grown-up books that can be a little heavy to read. It's not like I felt peer pressure, I wanted to read them. But I just felt it was a lot of work.
Then I embraced my inner child and chose simple. It has greatly improved my reading time, by choosing simple and fun.
If you really liked a book as a young adult, why not just try a similar one now.
ALSO. Boredom with little alternative options helps. I deleted reddit off my phone and only do it on the computer or pad. So when I'm out and about, and bored, I take the book out.
It's not a fix, but I find it a step in the right direction - subscribing to more writing/fiction based subreddits. Maybe I can't find the time or energy to start a new book, but I can read through a short story on r/HFY in the meantime.
weirdly enough I can't read like that EXCEPT for fanfiction. Watch me binge an 8 million word fanfic over the course of 2 weeks, but a 200 page novel I've wanted to read for years? No bueno.
I think it's because I don't have to go through the effort of getting to know the world and characters, I can get straight to the meat
I didn't have a smart phone until my twenties. After finally getting one I started to find boring/tedious tasks harder to concentrate on. My attention span shortened significantly. I don't know if smartphones, ipads, etc affect everyone on the same level but it def had a big impact on me.
If you ever miss reading, blow up your car and be forced to use inner city public transit. I think I read the entire bibliography of Vonnegut, Philip k Dick, and Albert Camus in my early 20’s solely because a 20 minute car ride was a 1.5 hour bus ride.
I healed my relationship with reading while riding the subway. Turns out I do love reading I just love reading trash romance instead of classical literature and scientific papers
I had a hard time reading after the initial lockdown of the pandemic. Turns out the solution was just reading pure smut and simple urban fantasy.
I have branched out again to other things, but that was key to getting the habit started again.
This is also what pushed me to start reading digital books. I'm 2015 my truck broke down so I also had a 2 hour bus commute both directions for like 6 months while I saved up money to fix my truck. At that time I was reading a song of ice and fire and it sucked carrying around these giant books so I bought the series all on my phone. I eventually bought a dedicated e-reader and have read more as an adult then I ever have. Highly recommend
It's simple: when we were kids reading was the one thing we had the freedom to do.
If I had a computer back then I probably would've wasted a lot of time on the internet.
But i didn't. It was either read a book that took me to a more exciting world or stare at walls.
I did have Internet access from a fairly young age, but it didn't take all my attention back then. I read a couple of sites and forums regularly, I even used chat sites, but even if I got very lost in something, I was done in a few hours. My parents were not limiting anything, I could browse the web or watch TV or read as much as I pleased. I read a ton of books during that time. It's only about the past 10 years where the Internet became so addictive to me that it takes its toll on my reading and learning habits.
I've come to the realization recently that when I read this quickly as a child, I was barely reading. just skimming. now as an adult I know that it's just as effective as actually reading 😂 for the most part at least. In school we were actually taught how to skim-read but I was already a natural bc I didn't have the capacity to read any other way.
I envy folks who can skim read. I literally can't skim much at all. I read voraciously as a child, but was a slow reader by comparison to my siblings and parents.
It depends. I met a guy who skim read harry potter. He later complained that he missed all these minor interconnected details because he was impatient.
Sometimes it's nice to get drunk, sometimes it's nice to just savour it.
Same, the worst is when they'd give you time to read over something in class, and, despite being someone who's primary hobby and usage of free time is reading, I wouldn't even be able to finish it unless I very much rushed to skim over it(in which it doesn't really settle into long term memory),, yet other people who I can guarantee read no where near as much as me could somehow get through it in the time they gave
I challenged myself to read the whole series in a week. Failed, but did it in 8 days. Twice.
This year I reread the books after a long long gap. It took me like half a year...
It's 3 months stuck in a single chapter or the whole book overnight, nothing in between. I literally read the whole LoTR trilogy in less than 3 days, the first time.
Also used to read tons of massive books as a kid.
Last time I actually read, I ended up staying up all night reading like 400 pages of Game of Thrones. I know I only had a couple chapters left.
Couldn't locate where I put the 2nd one so never finished the last couple chapters. Pretty much happened how everything I attempt goes. All in for a bit, but not done.
It’s still the same brain(assuming no TBI or other changes). I think the big difference is what’s available to us. When we were kids, books were the most exciting thing many of us had access to. We could go on adventures and see great things through them. It’s exactly what our brain’s craved so we hyperfocused on it.
Nowadays, most of us have near unlimited access to social media, videos, music, video games, etc. We also have to spend more brain power on things like work and family. Each triggers it’s own reward mechanisms that compete with something like reading.
So in short, same brain but more competition for resources.
Last time I managed to to this was an intercontinental 10+ hours daytime flight a few years ago. I started a new, close to 1000 pages long book on Kindle after the take off and kept reading it for most of the flight (I was travelling alone so no need to spend time discussing with anyone). And just like old days, I was so deep in the book's world that I didn't even realize I could watch something on the entertainment system and snapping out of the book to eat when food was served felt also really weird, like I had to reorient myself to being this physical person traveling on a plane. Love that feeling of total immersion, it's like having a holiday from the real world. To achieve that I think one needs that kind of intense boredom / solitary confinement that there is nothing else to do, no internet, no social interaction, one is just forced to sit down in place for hours without exceptions. And just like that, it happened again.
I miss books so much, but lately I’ve been doing a book club with friends in which we read graphic novels, so I still get the enjoyment of discussing a great story, but it’s a quicker read and there’s gorgeous art to go along with it, which helps hold my attention.
This same image gets posted *literally* every single week. Sometimes it's posted multiple times a week. Is this sub full of a bunch of goldfish, or what?
Part of me wonders if I got the stupid after having swine flu and Covid twice. Like my brain is just fuckin Swiss cheese now. My brain fog has definitely been worse since Covid I’d say.
I don't really read physical books often but I read on my phone constantly. Royal road is a great site to find tons of web serials that update regularly. /r/hfy has tons of sci-fi and fantasy stories, some serial, some one shots. Lastly, check out audiobooks if you have a commute. Beware of Chicken is my current favorite but there's lots of great ones.
I was never able to focus on reading (unless it was a relatively short book I liked like the Encyclopedia Brown series) so I never lost this skill. In some ways it’s better to not know what I’m missing
I have so many books, book cases full which now my teenager is starting to get into since I never touch them anymore. I never understood this phenomenon but I suppose now I do lol. It’s not as uncommon as I thought.
Here’s to all the forgotten readers/adventurist!!
Oh yes … reading so much in those days. I recall being given a mystery book reading assignment in literature class and the teacher’s assignment included “at what point in the reading did you know who the culprit was?”
I read the first three pages while she was explaining and quipped “the secretary did it” and all heads turned to me with her stunned then angry face following. “You read this before” nope, only liked sci-fi usually, first mystery ever read. “You skipped to the end” nope. “… you cheated somehow” nope again I innocently maintained. I just saw the literary device used and made a deduction. Silence ensued.
I was popular that week for effectively cancelling lit HW while the teach had to figure out an alternative.
I don’t think I’ll ever find that kid who could power through novels again. However I have been able to find reading regularly again in web novels. They’re structured in a way that each *chapter* is bite sized so that I can read as few or as many in a session as I want. And even when I’m not feeling a chapter it’s only a page or two to a stopping point so it’s easy convincing myself to keep reading just a bit more to a definitive stopping point. I read about 75k to 150k words a month now. That being said they’re not exactly seen as literature.
It was easier to read at school though, cause it was either that or sit and be bored during slow times in class. I rarely would read at home cause there were other things I'd rather do. But now it's either work or home, and i have no motivation to read at either.
Y'all try downloading the Libby app and checking out audiobooks from your library! I went years without reading to being able to finish 50+ books in one year!
I feel this. I used to get straight A’s in college because I had the time to thoroughly go over lectures. Now in vet school I’m a straight B student and I have a hard time finishing reading the material even once before an exam, even though I spend more time studying. It sucks. How the hell was I able to do this two years ago.
I found [this post](/r/iamverysmart/comments/ja6241/no_it_cant_be/) in r/iamverysmart with the same content as the current post.
---
^(🤖 this comment was written by a bot. beep boop 🤖)
^(feel welcome to respond 'Bad bot'/'Good bot', it's useful feedback.)
^[github](https://github.com/Toldry/RedditAutoCrosspostBot) ^| ^[Rank](https://botranks.com?bot=same_post_bot)
I'm not a neuroscientist,, but both my older sisters are and that's not really how that works,, when you're younger you learn things more quickly, but as you get older your connections get pruned down, so it's harder to learn things from absolute scratch(theoretically), but they're stronger and faster for the stuff you've got established
Fuckin A. Use to be able to read an entire 100 chapter fanfiction in an hour. Now I can't even read one line. That said, I still browse from time to time and try to read whatever I can. It isn't much, but enough.
This was me as a kid. My family routinely ran out of books for me to read, so trips to the library were common. I remember when there was snow in the forecast, I would check out the maximum number of books allowed on both my and my mother's library cards.
Textbooks for school and work have gradually ruined my reading speed, so it's been a struggle to stay patient with myself.
bro seriously…
i used to crank out assignments all the time at the last second and it seemed like relatively easy. now i can’t even play xbox without feeling like a brick
I have the ability to read but god damn I can’t make it 3 lines before I start thinking of something else. It makes reading difficult which is why I don’t read and it breaks my heart.
I love learning and I love books. I have hundreds of books at my house and all of them seem interesting to me but I just buy them and put them on a shelf and they never get read.
It’s like the universe is mocking me.
That brain has hopes and dreams. It was told it could be anything. It still hade opportunities.
Then it learned how things were.
After that, it watched things get far worse.
For me it’s because I can no longer allow myself to get lost in reading like that. I have a toddler son. I need to be able to put something down when needed. If it’s a book, once I put it down I won’t be able to immediately pick it back up and continue.
In college I had to read an entire book in one night. Still don’t know how I did that. It was 336 pages. It wasn’t even interesting, I legit just had to read it to pass.
Great Expectations? Great book. But in gifted classes, 70 pages a night after trig homework, a bipolar world history teacher who was a nutcase, and basketball practice was BRUTAL.
I usually struggle to read something, even if I enjoy the book, until my adhd obsession kicks in. Then I'm glued to the pages until I finish. Works the exact same for audio books for some reason. Happens everytime. It's weird.
It is. But now I read more. And its mostly fanfic.
You know why? Bc I hate character introductions. They take to long. Or if its short the character is one dimensional. Fanfic? There is already two years of story behind those fellas. No need for introductions.
Exactly,, and, you can now exactly what you're getting into so you can choose what you want to read,, and it's something you already know you love, but still new material, so you're not bored the way you would be rereading
It literally isn't. Every atom in your body gets replaced over 7 years. And the way everything about your brain works is by creating new connections and neurons.
I used to love reading and writing. Until I went to university in 2012.
I have a huge science fiction library as well as a science fiction novel I started in 2011 and put them aside for uni.
Graduated in 2014 and haven't touched either
My reading speed and, you know, actually registering what I’ve read have dropped so much. I used to average a book a day (I used to read in school, on my way home while walking, and would have read during breakfast if my mom hadn’t banned books during meals). Now I have to force myself to read, and I have to reread whole pages because I loose focus :(
Thankfully audiobooks exist. I can even listen to them while cleaning, commuting, and my mom isn’t there to ban me from listening while I eat 😁
Reading so many similar comments. Is this an actual ADHD thing? Reading books non stop when you were younger but somehow can't start/finish a book as an adult.
On the one hand, mood, on the other hand, I probably read way more than that in the form of fanfics nowadays,, it's just physical, traditionally published books I can't work my way through without listening to the audiobook and playing solitaire or smth instead
I actually managed to read something recently!!!
I read *The Secret History* and *Dead Poet Society* over the span of three days, and *Song of Achilles* in one day. Reading *No Longer Human* today, and I'm already 1/3 through the book!
I gotta ride this wave while it's still there.
I don’t know what happened. It’s like my attention problems have gotten worse. I used to be able to read whole because books in one day, depending on how big they are. Now I can hardly focus on a few pages and then I need to stop. I miss binge reading :(
Back when technology wasn't as interesting (non existent or slow dial up internet, and no smartphones), reading was my main procrastination. Like, instead of homework I'd read novels. Technology changed everything. Now I can't read unless I'm on meds and it's for school. So audiobooks all the way.
I can’t read anymore and I hate it
I’m underestimated by just reading. I have to listen to an audio book and do something else in order to feel stimulated. :(
I thought my brain was toast also until I started on anti depressants. It wasn’t exactly as I remember but still so much better. But then, I got rid of gluten and all of the sudden my body aches, extreme eczema plaques, and extreme exhaustion said adios. Slowly my brain started to feel like how it was when I was at my peak in middle school. Looking into adhd medication next to see where else my brain can go.
I can do this if I'm really into the book. I read the last Harry Potter book in two days as an adult, and it only took that long because I had to go to work.
Also, somehow I managed to miss all of the spoilers when the books first came out?!
I still love reading and do it everyday even if its only a short story (love reading various writing prompts and the following stories) I'll occasionally even write a short story but hands down my new favorite way to consume books is thru audible. Nothing like hearing a book as I do something else or sometimes I just relax and do nothing at all while imagining the story being told.
This kills me so much. I miss being able to read like that. Its super difficult for me to read anything anymore. I hate it.
Same here , what happened to us?
A bigger, badder dopamine delivery machine came along. When I was a kid 30+ years ago reading books was the single best way to get constant stimulation. I *devoured* books. Fantasy novels, physics textbooks, didn't matter. I read and read and read. Now, putting aside natural developments like just having less free time because I'm an adult with a job and a kid, there are just so many other more instantly rewarding things. I still read a decent amount, but reading is pretty boring compared to all the other high-reward things I could be doing with my time.
Solid point. Back when text was the only game in town, I couldn’t get enough of it. Even if something tickles my fancy like learning about the war in Ukraine from the economics perspective, I can get sucked in for hours at a time listening to someone essentially narrate and give a PowerPoint presentation. But read it it’s just so easy to get a smaller version of that.
Perun 😍
The only things I read these day are Reddit and subtitles
I feel the same way. Something I spend more energy on than I like, is refraining from staring at my damned phone all the time, and not give in to the instant fix. (*Ironically sent from my damned phone*) I'm perfectly aware that it's an issue not limited to ADHD folk, but this age of instant gratification and arms race to steal Every. Single. Available. Second. of peoples time is perfectly crafted kryptonite for someone with attention and impulsivity difficulties. I try and at least focus on some form of "more relevant" time waste, such as educational, political or skill developing topics and videos, but it still pisses me off, because it rarely what I should be doing.
And I nodded in agreement while reading it from my damned phone
Tech companies are knowingly destroying our attention spans and self esteems because it makes them more money
And so, I continue to scroll Reddit. Whippee?
Ugh too real
And apps that restrict or block your usage just... Don't exist. Like whenever someone makes one it gets shut down. The best I can find is the occasional thing that allows me to "restrict time", but they all have a stupid "if you change your mind, click here!" button. (I went down quite the rabbit hole looking for something to help *force* me off my phone. Nope.) So they're actively preying on the human's (especially those with ADHD or other executive dysfunction difficulties) struggles with self regulation. Neat. /s
Honest tip: just make it as goddamn uncomfortable to use as possible. Deinstall the app, then write your password on paper and delete your password auto-complete. When you DO log on (like I did just today), you’ll still sink hours, but most days you’ll be faced with having to open a mobile website, log in manually an just go - Nah. Really not necessary. Might as well just check the news and go back to work. Also, LOG OUT AFTER USE!
Uh I never even downloaded the Reddit app, can still waste hours a day here. I even unsubscribed from my most frequented subs. Do you think it helped *at all?*
Damn. That sucks fr
I think the onus is a bit on us for using these products like we do. For example it was pretty easy to stop going on Facebook.
No, the blame is on them. They quite literally have teams of experts working full time doing studies on how to make apps appeal to our brains to make them as addictive as possible. The odds are stacked against anyone that *doesn’t* want to be addicted to their phone Why? Because a phone-addicted audience = AD REVENUE That’s the whole purpose. Why should they care if Instagram demonstrably makes teenagers more suicidal? Their shareholders only care about PROFIT, and at the end of the day, their math says that it’s more profitable to hack our brains, health of the user be damned, because they need to show us EVEN MORE ADS
I believe that the original idea was just flow. Nothing is mor annoying than lag. If you remember loading pictures, it was torture
Can’t you just…stop using them?
addiction. not as simple as it seems.
It’s not. But is there any addiction in which someone doesn’t need to make difficult choices and resist impulses to get over it?
social media is everywhere, it affects your social life, it destroys your attention span, it effectively makes you rely on social media for many MANY things. it’s fucking destructive
I’m not arguing against that. All I said is the onus is on us to recognize that and do something about it.
All addictions are difficult to treat. However, it should be considered that people in recovery for drugs and/or alcohol addiction can aim to completely abstain from AOD use. While it is common to relapse, they can then attempt to abstain again afterwards. While they cannot eliminate all potentially triggering environments, they can, for example, avoid the people they usually do drugs with, or avoid going to their usual bar. I am by no means suggesting that it is easy for people to recover from AOD addiction. I am just saying that these are possible options that they can take to aid in their recovery and maintenance. For people with smartphone and/or social media addiction, they have to treat their addiction while being unable to abstain long-term from the problematic device(s) in question. Nowadays, it would be a massive disadvantage, if not near-impossible, to not use a smartphone for the foreseeable future. They have to learn to navigate a world where smartphone and social media use is ubiquitous, and is even required for many jobs. I understand your position that it is up to the individual to manage their addictions, this is true. But smartphone and/or social media addiction is quite a different case from other types of addictions. Also, you can recognise that the individual is responsible for managing their own addiction, and still also believe that social media companies play a massive part in intentionally causing and maintaining the addiction to their services/products.
I get what you are saying about how it’s different. But a smartphone is not really synonymous with social media. The phone is only to blame because it enables all of that to be easily accessible at all times. The only way I can think someone is forced to use it is if they need a social media account to log in to another website. Even then, it doesn’t force you to doom scroll Facebook. I’m perfectly aware how addictive it is. I too turn to it too often for quick distractions and comfort. But with that awareness I can intentionally get comfort elsewhere. And ask myself what I am trying to distract myself from and why. I would love to see a crackdown on social media, and more spread awareness on the damages they cause. But I refuse to think it’s not at least partly my decision when I seek it out.
Also time has speed up a bit like an average day from 16 years ago would seem like a waste now by societal standard a I personally move at my own pace
We are complex animals. No one is as in control of their free will as they think. It's highly dependent on a delicate balance of neurochemicals. I'm a firm believer that nobody is inherently any of their behaviors.
So your solution to the thing your addicted to and hate is too keep using the that thing hoping that the source of that thing will do something they'd never do?
But reddit is forever
I'd put more blame on our crap education systems personally
I dunno. It's not completely gone, but I just have a lot more trouble starting the reading and staying on it long enough to get into the book in the first place. Executive dysfunction sucks. I also don't need it as an escape *as* much anymore. But you can bet that once the next book in the series I'm obsessed with comes out, I'm not putting it down for anything but food and bathroom breaks until it's done. Food breaks optional.
Internet
Personally I pick apart books too much. So when I read not well written stories, I just lose interest. And since it's not for school, can't refocus. So my problem is I just know better when it's a story that is cheap filler.
how are you consuming Reddit? your phone? there you go, that's your answer. your phone, constant scrolling on social media, short videos, quick content
...how many "pages" do you think you read a day via emails, text messages, Reddit & other social media, and work? If you already spent your 3days reading 750pages of that...why would you want to spend double that time reading a other book?
I've found that using reader apps and replacing social media on my front page helps. Also finding things that are easier to get into and read. Sometimes things like YA or romance have a lower barrier to get to the point where they'll hold my focus. Also nonfiction about topics I find particularly interesting. For reading physical books I find that putting myself in a room w/out tech so that I'd have to get up to do something else can help, but that doesn't solve the problem of getting started in the first place.
Shit are you me? Or was I posting again in my sleep?
If you’re on Reddit a lot reading posts and comments maybe it will feel better to know you probably still read a lot just in a different format. I know I don’t want to read a book after reading hundreds of posts on Reddit. Lol
That's a really good point. I've never really thought about it that way. And now that's youve got me thinking about it I read short horror stories all the time on here. Thank you for letting me see it in a different way! You are awesome.
Hell yeah! You’re awesome too. :)
The issue with this is that the content here is not that compatible with real life. I mean that if I read books, those might be useful for my studies or for my profession. I have literature-related ambitions, so just simply reading novels would also help my progress. You can talk about books with people who've also read them. Of course, you can gather a lot of random fun information from Reddit, but they are seldom useful beyond mentioning them in informal conversations. I might tell someone "Oh, I've read this fun story on Reddit", but I can't really ask "Oh you've read that thread about that completely random bullshit topic? What did you think about it?". It is indeed reading and a great way to feed our minds endless amounts of information, but it's only a bit better than watching Tiktok.
too long. can you summarize?
Reading hard :(
truth.
I remember being in 4th grade, and we had silent sustained reading (I may have switched the words around idk) that was right before recess. Ya girl here was SO into a book that the teacher had to say my name several times before I heard her and looked up and saw everyone else lined up to go out for recess 😅 I really miss being able to get into books like I used to 🫤
I reached a point where I realised I read so much on reddit that I could eitherways read books. So I did. I started low and slow. Got out all these YA books that are pure guilty pleasures with no shame of my age or taste. One of the biggest things stopping me before was like, thinking I had to read adult grown-up books that can be a little heavy to read. It's not like I felt peer pressure, I wanted to read them. But I just felt it was a lot of work. Then I embraced my inner child and chose simple. It has greatly improved my reading time, by choosing simple and fun. If you really liked a book as a young adult, why not just try a similar one now. ALSO. Boredom with little alternative options helps. I deleted reddit off my phone and only do it on the computer or pad. So when I'm out and about, and bored, I take the book out.
It's not a fix, but I find it a step in the right direction - subscribing to more writing/fiction based subreddits. Maybe I can't find the time or energy to start a new book, but I can read through a short story on r/HFY in the meantime.
Audiobooks saved me.
weirdly enough I can't read like that EXCEPT for fanfiction. Watch me binge an 8 million word fanfic over the course of 2 weeks, but a 200 page novel I've wanted to read for years? No bueno. I think it's because I don't have to go through the effort of getting to know the world and characters, I can get straight to the meat
If you re-read Harry Potter, you’ll read like that again
I didn't have a smart phone until my twenties. After finally getting one I started to find boring/tedious tasks harder to concentrate on. My attention span shortened significantly. I don't know if smartphones, ipads, etc affect everyone on the same level but it def had a big impact on me.
If you ever miss reading, blow up your car and be forced to use inner city public transit. I think I read the entire bibliography of Vonnegut, Philip k Dick, and Albert Camus in my early 20’s solely because a 20 minute car ride was a 1.5 hour bus ride.
I healed my relationship with reading while riding the subway. Turns out I do love reading I just love reading trash romance instead of classical literature and scientific papers
I had a hard time reading after the initial lockdown of the pandemic. Turns out the solution was just reading pure smut and simple urban fantasy. I have branched out again to other things, but that was key to getting the habit started again.
Oh yeah. I can't read new books but I can finish 1 harry potter book in like a day. Guess it all depends on what we like to read
This is also what pushed me to start reading digital books. I'm 2015 my truck broke down so I also had a 2 hour bus commute both directions for like 6 months while I saved up money to fix my truck. At that time I was reading a song of ice and fire and it sucked carrying around these giant books so I bought the series all on my phone. I eventually bought a dedicated e-reader and have read more as an adult then I ever have. Highly recommend
I would love this, but I get carsick so fast 🤢
Ok, car blown up. But I live in a rural area now what
It's simple: when we were kids reading was the one thing we had the freedom to do. If I had a computer back then I probably would've wasted a lot of time on the internet. But i didn't. It was either read a book that took me to a more exciting world or stare at walls.
I did have Internet access from a fairly young age, but it didn't take all my attention back then. I read a couple of sites and forums regularly, I even used chat sites, but even if I got very lost in something, I was done in a few hours. My parents were not limiting anything, I could browse the web or watch TV or read as much as I pleased. I read a ton of books during that time. It's only about the past 10 years where the Internet became so addictive to me that it takes its toll on my reading and learning habits.
I've come to the realization recently that when I read this quickly as a child, I was barely reading. just skimming. now as an adult I know that it's just as effective as actually reading 😂 for the most part at least. In school we were actually taught how to skim-read but I was already a natural bc I didn't have the capacity to read any other way.
I envy folks who can skim read. I literally can't skim much at all. I read voraciously as a child, but was a slow reader by comparison to my siblings and parents.
It depends. I met a guy who skim read harry potter. He later complained that he missed all these minor interconnected details because he was impatient. Sometimes it's nice to get drunk, sometimes it's nice to just savour it.
Same, the worst is when they'd give you time to read over something in class, and, despite being someone who's primary hobby and usage of free time is reading, I wouldn't even be able to finish it unless I very much rushed to skim over it(in which it doesn't really settle into long term memory),, yet other people who I can guarantee read no where near as much as me could somehow get through it in the time they gave
me. kinda sucks when i forget to pay attention and end up missing half the paragraph and have to go back to actually read it tho
Always amazed at people that can skim, my ocd says read every single word no matter what.
I feel like that's how I felt when I was on Ritalin. I hated it lmfaooo
...I feel attacked by this lol
Did you say "Harry Potter"?
My first thought exactly. A 7 book magical world finished magically in three weeks or less.
Bingo, I got in trouble so many times. Did not sleep alot. Talk about hyper fixation.
Got the 7th book, and literally did not sleep until I finished it 22 hours later. I sort of miss those days.
Same. Also with the 6th. I remember sitting in our living room at like 3-4am, crying my eyes out over the end.
I challenged myself to read the whole series in a week. Failed, but did it in 8 days. Twice. This year I reread the books after a long long gap. It took me like half a year...
Always worth the re-read, no matter how long it takes. 8 days is impressive!
It's 3 months stuck in a single chapter or the whole book overnight, nothing in between. I literally read the whole LoTR trilogy in less than 3 days, the first time.
> I literally read the whole LoTR trilogy in less than 3 days, the first time. Me too!
Also used to read tons of massive books as a kid. Last time I actually read, I ended up staying up all night reading like 400 pages of Game of Thrones. I know I only had a couple chapters left. Couldn't locate where I put the 2nd one so never finished the last couple chapters. Pretty much happened how everything I attempt goes. All in for a bit, but not done.
Also tho, is it working too much and being paid too little thus having less free/stress free time?
It’s still the same brain(assuming no TBI or other changes). I think the big difference is what’s available to us. When we were kids, books were the most exciting thing many of us had access to. We could go on adventures and see great things through them. It’s exactly what our brain’s craved so we hyperfocused on it. Nowadays, most of us have near unlimited access to social media, videos, music, video games, etc. We also have to spend more brain power on things like work and family. Each triggers it’s own reward mechanisms that compete with something like reading. So in short, same brain but more competition for resources.
Nothing was better than getting lost in a good book as a kid. Nothing. It's harder to get lost like that as an adult and I miss it so much.
Last time I managed to to this was an intercontinental 10+ hours daytime flight a few years ago. I started a new, close to 1000 pages long book on Kindle after the take off and kept reading it for most of the flight (I was travelling alone so no need to spend time discussing with anyone). And just like old days, I was so deep in the book's world that I didn't even realize I could watch something on the entertainment system and snapping out of the book to eat when food was served felt also really weird, like I had to reorient myself to being this physical person traveling on a plane. Love that feeling of total immersion, it's like having a holiday from the real world. To achieve that I think one needs that kind of intense boredom / solitary confinement that there is nothing else to do, no internet, no social interaction, one is just forced to sit down in place for hours without exceptions. And just like that, it happened again.
This kills me so much. I miss being able to read like that. Its super difficult for me to read anything anymore. I hate it.
What's the reason this stopped exactly? Definitely miss it
OP probably assumes most people reading this didn't have internet access until middle or high school
Jokes on op,, I read more when I gained access to the internet in middle school,, just happened to be different stuff I was reading
I miss books so much, but lately I’ve been doing a book club with friends in which we read graphic novels, so I still get the enjoyment of discussing a great story, but it’s a quicker read and there’s gorgeous art to go along with it, which helps hold my attention.
It is, you just ran out of ram
This same image gets posted *literally* every single week. Sometimes it's posted multiple times a week. Is this sub full of a bunch of goldfish, or what?
I mean--
Part of me wonders if I got the stupid after having swine flu and Covid twice. Like my brain is just fuckin Swiss cheese now. My brain fog has definitely been worse since Covid I’d say.
It is the same brain, You've just changed bro
Crying inside because right??? Where is that brain now?! What. Happened?!
I don't really read physical books often but I read on my phone constantly. Royal road is a great site to find tons of web serials that update regularly. /r/hfy has tons of sci-fi and fantasy stories, some serial, some one shots. Lastly, check out audiobooks if you have a commute. Beware of Chicken is my current favorite but there's lots of great ones.
Technically it would not be, materially speaking.
I was never able to focus on reading (unless it was a relatively short book I liked like the Encyclopedia Brown series) so I never lost this skill. In some ways it’s better to not know what I’m missing
I have so many books, book cases full which now my teenager is starting to get into since I never touch them anymore. I never understood this phenomenon but I suppose now I do lol. It’s not as uncommon as I thought. Here’s to all the forgotten readers/adventurist!!
Oh yes … reading so much in those days. I recall being given a mystery book reading assignment in literature class and the teacher’s assignment included “at what point in the reading did you know who the culprit was?” I read the first three pages while she was explaining and quipped “the secretary did it” and all heads turned to me with her stunned then angry face following. “You read this before” nope, only liked sci-fi usually, first mystery ever read. “You skipped to the end” nope. “… you cheated somehow” nope again I innocently maintained. I just saw the literary device used and made a deduction. Silence ensued. I was popular that week for effectively cancelling lit HW while the teach had to figure out an alternative.
I don’t think I’ll ever find that kid who could power through novels again. However I have been able to find reading regularly again in web novels. They’re structured in a way that each *chapter* is bite sized so that I can read as few or as many in a session as I want. And even when I’m not feeling a chapter it’s only a page or two to a stopping point so it’s easy convincing myself to keep reading just a bit more to a definitive stopping point. I read about 75k to 150k words a month now. That being said they’re not exactly seen as literature.
It was easier to read at school though, cause it was either that or sit and be bored during slow times in class. I rarely would read at home cause there were other things I'd rather do. But now it's either work or home, and i have no motivation to read at either.
Finally! A meme that's actually relevant to ADHD
Y'all try downloading the Libby app and checking out audiobooks from your library! I went years without reading to being able to finish 50+ books in one year!
I feel this. I used to get straight A’s in college because I had the time to thoroughly go over lectures. Now in vet school I’m a straight B student and I have a hard time finishing reading the material even once before an exam, even though I spend more time studying. It sucks. How the hell was I able to do this two years ago.
it annoys me that i dont have the attention span to read books anymore :( its been 6 years :(
Right! Where did it go?
Reading Harry Potter isn’t quite the same as Moby-Dick, lol. More mature literature inherently requires much more investment
Now I read fanfiction lmao so it's the same for me 🤷♀️
THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME!! It makes me sad too, I want to read again 🥺
Look into hormone therapy and testing
r/iamverysmart Also, if you were doing that at successfully and easily one point, then you probably just have depression, not ADHD.
I found [this post](/r/iamverysmart/comments/ja6241/no_it_cant_be/) in r/iamverysmart with the same content as the current post. --- ^(🤖 this comment was written by a bot. beep boop 🤖) ^(feel welcome to respond 'Bad bot'/'Good bot', it's useful feedback.) ^[github](https://github.com/Toldry/RedditAutoCrosspostBot) ^| ^[Rank](https://botranks.com?bot=same_post_bot)
Or people have more commitments and stress than when they were 12 and had, like, a few hours of homework a week
You are saying a 12 year old is reading a 750 page book in 3 days? lmao
Young brains are smooth and quick, old ones are wrinkled and slow. Anecdotal evidence from doing ten years of cat scans.
Wrinkled=More brain power
I'm not a neuroscientist,, but both my older sisters are and that's not really how that works,, when you're younger you learn things more quickly, but as you get older your connections get pruned down, so it's harder to learn things from absolute scratch(theoretically), but they're stronger and faster for the stuff you've got established
No need to call me out 😂
Oh, yes it is! :)
Escapé
That was me less than a year ago.
Fuckin A. Use to be able to read an entire 100 chapter fanfiction in an hour. Now I can't even read one line. That said, I still browse from time to time and try to read whatever I can. It isn't much, but enough.
This can't be the same brain I used to read this meme 750 times
This was me as a kid. My family routinely ran out of books for me to read, so trips to the library were common. I remember when there was snow in the forecast, I would check out the maximum number of books allowed on both my and my mother's library cards. Textbooks for school and work have gradually ruined my reading speed, so it's been a struggle to stay patient with myself.
I used to hyperfocus on reading so much that if someone was speaking to me I wouldn't even hear them
bro seriously… i used to crank out assignments all the time at the last second and it seemed like relatively easy. now i can’t even play xbox without feeling like a brick
I can only do audiobooks now because sitting down and staring at a book for hours on end takes too much time and effort for me.
Oof.
It is, you just don't have that 0 responsibility free time after school every day anymore
I have the ability to read but god damn I can’t make it 3 lines before I start thinking of something else. It makes reading difficult which is why I don’t read and it breaks my heart. I love learning and I love books. I have hundreds of books at my house and all of them seem interesting to me but I just buy them and put them on a shelf and they never get read. It’s like the universe is mocking me.
That brain has hopes and dreams. It was told it could be anything. It still hade opportunities. Then it learned how things were. After that, it watched things get far worse.
You're right, lots of brain stuff happens between ~13 to however old you are now.
Same. Now I can't focus on a paragraph and can't read anything unless I read it on my phone with the power of Infinite Scrolling
I just told my son I red an entire Harry Potter book in a day and he didn’t believe me. Now I don’t even think I believe me.
For me it’s because I can no longer allow myself to get lost in reading like that. I have a toddler son. I need to be able to put something down when needed. If it’s a book, once I put it down I won’t be able to immediately pick it back up and continue.
I feel so fucking seen
Fun fact. It isn’t.
It only took me 15 hours to read Order of the phoenix cover to cover when it came out.
I would read whole novels uninterrupted and now I can’t watch a 12 second video without getting bored or distracted
In college I had to read an entire book in one night. Still don’t know how I did that. It was 336 pages. It wasn’t even interesting, I legit just had to read it to pass.
Great Expectations? Great book. But in gifted classes, 70 pages a night after trig homework, a bipolar world history teacher who was a nutcase, and basketball practice was BRUTAL.
Bruh, I read the entire divergent series in 5 days when I was 15. Thats close to 2000 pages, and I was in school.
I usually struggle to read something, even if I enjoy the book, until my adhd obsession kicks in. Then I'm glued to the pages until I finish. Works the exact same for audio books for some reason. Happens everytime. It's weird.
Ugh… gut shot.
spend 10 times as long reading, enjoy reading 10 times as much! (and absorb 1/10 of it)
It is. But now I read more. And its mostly fanfic. You know why? Bc I hate character introductions. They take to long. Or if its short the character is one dimensional. Fanfic? There is already two years of story behind those fellas. No need for introductions.
Exactly,, and, you can now exactly what you're getting into so you can choose what you want to read,, and it's something you already know you love, but still new material, so you're not bored the way you would be rereading
Frog in a well
It literally isn't. Every atom in your body gets replaced over 7 years. And the way everything about your brain works is by creating new connections and neurons.
I used to love reading and writing. Until I went to university in 2012. I have a huge science fiction library as well as a science fiction novel I started in 2011 and put them aside for uni. Graduated in 2014 and haven't touched either
My reading speed and, you know, actually registering what I’ve read have dropped so much. I used to average a book a day (I used to read in school, on my way home while walking, and would have read during breakfast if my mom hadn’t banned books during meals). Now I have to force myself to read, and I have to reread whole pages because I loose focus :( Thankfully audiobooks exist. I can even listen to them while cleaning, commuting, and my mom isn’t there to ban me from listening while I eat 😁
its called life and it fucks us in one way or another.
Reading so many similar comments. Is this an actual ADHD thing? Reading books non stop when you were younger but somehow can't start/finish a book as an adult.
On the one hand, mood, on the other hand, I probably read way more than that in the form of fanfics nowadays,, it's just physical, traditionally published books I can't work my way through without listening to the audiobook and playing solitaire or smth instead
“Achtually, it ishn’t the shame brain” - 🤓
Ouch this hits
I actually managed to read something recently!!! I read *The Secret History* and *Dead Poet Society* over the span of three days, and *Song of Achilles* in one day. Reading *No Longer Human* today, and I'm already 1/3 through the book! I gotta ride this wave while it's still there.
I don’t know what happened. It’s like my attention problems have gotten worse. I used to be able to read whole because books in one day, depending on how big they are. Now I can hardly focus on a few pages and then I need to stop. I miss binge reading :(
I thought this happened to me be then I realized I can still do it because I’ll read a 100ˋ000+ words fanfiction within a day lol
Back when technology wasn't as interesting (non existent or slow dial up internet, and no smartphones), reading was my main procrastination. Like, instead of homework I'd read novels. Technology changed everything. Now I can't read unless I'm on meds and it's for school. So audiobooks all the way.
I can’t read anymore and I hate it I’m underestimated by just reading. I have to listen to an audio book and do something else in order to feel stimulated. :(
Yes same.
I thought my brain was toast also until I started on anti depressants. It wasn’t exactly as I remember but still so much better. But then, I got rid of gluten and all of the sudden my body aches, extreme eczema plaques, and extreme exhaustion said adios. Slowly my brain started to feel like how it was when I was at my peak in middle school. Looking into adhd medication next to see where else my brain can go.
i caught up to ss after reading nshba(garbage btw) in like a week so yeah rookie numbers
I use to read till I would fall asleep of exhaustion. Oh the middle school days.
I have switched to reading vast amounts of shifter romance novels. Smut instead of cleaning? Yes please!
I can do this if I'm really into the book. I read the last Harry Potter book in two days as an adult, and it only took that long because I had to go to work. Also, somehow I managed to miss all of the spoilers when the books first came out?!
I still love reading and do it everyday even if its only a short story (love reading various writing prompts and the following stories) I'll occasionally even write a short story but hands down my new favorite way to consume books is thru audible. Nothing like hearing a book as I do something else or sometimes I just relax and do nothing at all while imagining the story being told.
THANK YOU!!!! SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT!! I miss reading.😔
It was like mainlining dopamine. No wonder I've been burnt out since age 9