Increasingly, people began to complain about distraction, the inability to concentrate on one thing, memory problems. It becomes difficult for some to read large texts, not to mention books. Moreover, this problem does not occur in older people, but among young people. Someone blames it on fatigue and stress, someone gives another argument: the role of the book in human life is not so great.
The thing is that with a constant connection to information sources through a tablet or smartphone, the brain learns how to remember something. A person does not read, but scans, views the pages on the network, while reading no more than a quarter of the entire text. Reading books, where there is no constant separation of 3-4 sentences with an empty line, becomes an impossible task. The only way to help yourself and save yourself from degradation is to turn off gadgets and read more quality literature.
The role of the book in human life: arguments for reading
According to a study by YouGov conducted by Amnesty International, 50% of parents surveyed think that a book is the best way to develop empathy in children. More than half of them think: reading literary works, a child learns to represent himself in the place of another. Interestingly, in the list of children's literature, which teaches children to empathize, the first was Roald Dahl's tale of the "Great Good Giant."
Not only in the modern world there is an acute problem of the role of books in human life. Arguments in favor of print media, arguments over the value of paper and the dominance of electronic versions can often be heard among bookworms. But a little earlier, when the movie appeared, connoisseurs of folios were also afraid that the letters on paper would now become uninteresting. And the appearance of the theater once threatened books. None of the prophecies have yet come true.
Why not be afraid that people will stop reading
Why not be afraid for the role of the book in human life? The arguments may be:
- If there is no electricity, there is always something to do: when the TVs stop working, the Internet turns off, and the battery runs out on the smartphone, you can learn a lot by reading.
- Books help distract from problems, and sometimes solve them. There are very motivating literary works that can support in difficult times and even inspire a new business.
- Reading increases vocabulary, develops memory and analytical thinking.
- Weakly developed imagination and creative thinking can also be improved with the help of literature.
- The inability to fall asleep is another common modern problem. The roles of the book in human life, the arguments in defense of which are not limited to development alone, can also be supplemented with a relaxing, pacifying effect. Some works work like sleeping pills - it is not for nothing that children read fairy tales at night! They are lulled by them and disposed to good dreams. And for adults, such a bedtime story can be, for example, Tolkien's The Silmarillion. Although for some young people often the “Lord of the Rings” by the same author is also quite lulling.
The role of the book in human life: arguments from literature
But there are books that keep you awake. And such are the majority. What literary work first comes to mind if you are asked to give a literary argument on the topic of the need for reading? The role of the book in human life is described in Ray Bradbury’s novel 451 Fahrenheit, and it is precisely he who is often remembered as a prophetic thing. The writer foresaw a lot in his work, even the appearance of “droplet” headphones. He later realized with horror that his fantastic invention turned into a real nightmare. “There is a feeling that books are dying,” he said in one of his last interviews, referring to electronic media.
The effects of books on humans: examples from the literature
What else can be said about the role of the book in human life? Arguments from the literature that can be cited to illustrate it are contained in Alexander Green's Green Lamp. In this story, the young man was forbidden to talk with anyone while sitting at home - he did not lose his mind just because of the book. For Maxim Gorky, reading was a cure for the "abominations of life." Isn't that an argument? He expressed the role of the book in a person’s life with the words of his hero Smuriy (the story “In People”), who said that reading is the best in life.
The hero of N. Ostrovsky’s novel “How Steel Was Tempered” Korchagin says about his ability to endure pain: “Read The Gadfly. The book is often the impetus for making an important decision, for example, in the “Tale of a Real Man” by B. Polevoy or the poem by A. Twardowski “Vasily Terkin”.
Last argument
Reading is a pleasure. Here is such a final argument. The role of the book in human life cannot be overestimated. It not only develops memory, creative thinking, analytical abilities, but also takes readers to other worlds created by the imagination of the writer. These are wonderful and bright places full of love and hope. Or maybe dangerous, life in which is unthinkable without risk and adventure. They are different, but at the same time our world. Traveling with the heroes of books, people themselves change, make discoveries, sometimes even fall in love. And of course, learn to dream!