With the never ending advances in technology today it seems that a lot of people spend their free time with their eyeballs glued to a screen. Living in a century that feels as if they constantly need to be entertained, sometimes it can be hard to look away from the digital drama. Reading actual, solid books is a highly underrated form of entertainment that should be appreciated and rediscovered before everyones brain turns to mush.
The great thing about books is that a million different people can read the same book and each person can interpret it differently. Everyone will have different images of a character in their head. Everyone will imagine the setting as a slightly different place. A book is like a giant puzzle, with pieces of information that can be put together in whatever way that the reader chooses.
When someone watches television, however, everything going on is put so easily before them that they have no room to fill in the blanks with their imagination. Studies have shown that engaging in a television screen is neurologically equivalent to staring at a blank wall.
Television is full of underlying messages that effect people in ways that they might not even notice. A prime example of this is self confidence, especially in younger people who are growing up and discovering who they are. Young girls who see only big-breasted, skinny, gorgeous women on television are going to believe that those women are the only definition of beautiful, which is a lie. When someone reads a book they learn about the thoughts, feelings and actions of a character, the aspects of a person that truly make them who they are. Readers are never able to actually lay eyes on the characters and judge them for how they look.
Books are like a portable adventure, something someone can throw into their backpack, take with them anywhere, and dive into any time they desire. Books help people expand their vocabulary, exercise their creativity and broaden their imaginations. People should be careful what they put into their delicate minds, pick up a book and enjoy an advertisement free mental escape.