If I started to read books instead of watching tv what would be the effect?

Question

I heard that television shortens your attention span, and books help widen it so I was wondering if I started to watch no tv and instead started to read books would it have a good effect on me.

Answer 1

Your grammar, spelling, comprehension and composition of english will definitely improve. That is self improvement, making you a BETTER person. It's an investment in yourself. Read as much as possible and skip all the trashy novels. Join a library.

Answer 2

It most definitely will have a good effect on you!

1. It helps burn more calories and increase brain function... ok, I know this sounds stupid. But it's been proven that when you watch TV, your brain and body is more relaxed than even when you SLEEP. So when you sleep, you are more active physically and mentally than when you watch TV. Read instead of watching TV, and that problem's solved.

2. It increases imagination. With TV, pictures and everything are all right in front of you--with books, you have to imagine the layout of the setting, the looks of the characters, etc, because there are no pictures.

3. Do you know that some experts say you shouldn't watch TV in the dark, because it affects your eyes? But you can read in almost any light!

4. A lot of great novels have lessons on life or contain some philosophical information, whereas most TV is pretty shallow. If you read what seems like a cool, normal book on the surface, you may gain something deeper without even fully realizing it.

5. And as mentioned before--it'll help out your spelling and grammar. Seeing word on the page--and not in slang--will help you much more than hearing them on TV.

Answer 3

It's always made me smile when people equate TV with intelligence. Sure there is some pretty dumb stuff on TV, but there are also many expertly crafted TV shows, such as Six Feet Under, The Shield, Studio 60 and a host of others. Definitely, cable gives a writer much more freedom on the subjects they can tackle and explore, but in recent years, there seems to be better plotted shows on network TV, problem is, they get cancelled before given the chance.

If you started reading books instead of writing TV, yes your vocabulary would definitely increase and your view of the world would morph as you read. Reading requires more concentration, I think, and is a much more personal, private experience. You and the author connect on some level and you are responsible for creating the images in your head based off what the author has crafted.

Thomas

Answer 4

Aha - the effects would be insidious. First thing you know, you would be paying attention to whole chapters of reading at a single sitting. Your vocabulary would expand exponentially, and you would stop using four letter words that began with f and ended with k. In fact, your stock of expletives would expand to include much more descriptive and striking combinations of words. And you would find yourself becoming curious about the information in the books you were reading, and doing a little background reading and research, just out of general interest.
But you don't have to give up watching tv. Book readers can have all that, and still watch the news, the weather forecast, and some of the superb coverage TV can give to current events, such as those that lead up to elections and of course, election coverage itself.

Answer 5

My oldest (a boy) wasn't too into reading until about grade 5. I started borrowing lots of different books from the library, and putting them all over the house. Eventually, he picked some up and started reading. (I'd even take out, or buy, scary "boys'" stories, like GOOSEBUMPS, just to get him into the reading habit. Now he's 19 and an avid reader.) My middle child didn't like reading, either, but LOVED it when I read to HER, so I started reading her quality literature (novels) for kids that I'd enjoyed as a child (I was a bookworm). She got into the "reading habit", and would finish the books I'd started. She is also an avid reader today (at 13). Unfortunately, there are people who just don't like to read for fun. One of my friends has a Ph.D, is very smart, but only reads for work (college material). Never reads for fun. Prefers TV or video games for downtime. So everyone is different, I guess. But I do like reading, and perhaps my kids just inherited my "love to read" gene! Another idea is to make them go to bed, when they're NOT yet tired, but give them the option to read in bed until they get tired. With nothing else to do (and being bored), they'll read!

Answer 6

Yes, it would have a good effect.
You'd be better educated. You'd learn a lot. You'd develop the ability to process words more that the language you hear on TV all the time.
TV is a passive medium, you sit and watch and it provides you with low-nutrition pre-processed and pre-digested "food." You're more like a sponge in this process than a brain.
Reading encourages you more to think for yourself--a skill sadly too often lacking in today's populace. And you future freedom could easily depend upon it!

Answer 7

It would. You would probably find that your attention span improved, that you slept better, that you felt less pressured to buy things (because you wouldn't be seeing all those ads), and that you had more time to actually do things that you like. Plus, you would be doing a lot of pleasant and effortless learning as you read.

If you have children in your household, you will see many good results from stopping TV. TV makes children hyper, makes them have trouble focusing and listening, and gives them many bad examples that encourage violence and disrespect.

Answer 8

Books widen your vocabulary. When you hear a word you don't know the meaning of on t.v., your brain just deletes it immediately. But when reading, the language part of your brain will retain it longer until you understand the meaning from the context of the sentence. Reading expands and exercises your mind while watching t.v. just numbs it.

Answer 9

As the wise Roald Dahl wrote in one of his many great books "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory":

"The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set–
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all the shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink–
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSES IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK–HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY...USED...TO...READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic takes
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy–Winkle and–
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How The Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rat and Mr. Mole–
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks–
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something good to read.
And once they start–oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hears. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.
P.S. Regarding Mike Teavee,
We very much regret that we
Shall simply have to wait and see
If we can get him back his height.
But if we can't–it serves him right."

Answer 10

Of course it would be good for you. But split the difference, read books about TV.