Question for non-readers: why DON'T you like to read?

Question

I mean reading books for entertainment. Clearly, I am addressing non-readers, not readers. I'm not criticizing, I'm just curious.

Answer 1

Good question BOB, I have often thought why don't i like reading books?

ANSWER is I find my mind wandering thru lack of concentration , BUT I still look up books for info etc, novels don't grab me if ya get me drift..
I like to flick thru mags etc but heavy reading forget it, maybe the puters have made seeking info a more intersting way..

Maybe in time this will change but for now I am too busy in social life...cya

Answer 2

I'm a reader, but I have a couple of hypotheses about non-readers (also non-critical).

In a class of mine years ago, we talked about the various styles of learning. People learn in different ways. Some are best by seeing, others hearing, and others still by doing. It makes sense to me that people who learn by hearing/doing would not be as interested in a more active visual activity where they are less likely to retain information as those who are visual learners.

I think there was even something about how people process the different information they read - someone like me who is a visual learner (and perfect for the school system) can read, understand and interpret meaning out of words. When I read a novel I see a visual world that is "painted" out of the words. But many other people don't have that kind of experience when they read. Some hear words in their head as they read, which I imagine wouldn't be all that rewarding, while some may have a hard time even following the meaning of the words as they read making the memory of what is happning disconnected. If I were someone with low reading comprehension I would be reaching for the remote all the time. So, in that way I can see that the reward of entertainment is much lower than it would be to someone like me. They probably get a higher entertainment reward from watching tv, hearing great music or playing a sport in a way that I wouldn't.

As I have gotten older I don't feel like I have as much time for pleasure reading as I did when I was younger. At the end of the day I find myself seeking out something passive and mind-numbing (like tv - which requires no participation) versus reading which requires more "effort" for me to get my entertainment.

I read once there's actually less activity going on in your head when you're watching tv than when you're asleep...which makes perfect sense as to why I use it to calm down, and generally will fall asleep promptly if the tv is on. Other people I know can't fall asleep with the tv on at all.

The thing is, I like the richness/detail stories that are read provide, so I have discovered audiobooks. I can still "do" the day-to-day activities I felt like I was shirking when I was sitting down reading (because after all, if you're reading...that's all you're doing), and still get the story too. I also didn't like audiobooks as much when I first started listening to them, but the medium has grown on me as much as the information it contains. I wonder how audio-books would work for some non-readers.

Answer 3

It takes too long to get to the point. I'm not exactly a non-reader but I don't like to read.

Answer 4

most of the stuff is boring, and i dont read well so it takes me longer to read something, so thats probably why i get board.