🇦🇺 📖 **Have Men Really Stopped Reading? We Take A Deeper Dive Into The Data**
"_It looks like reading statistics vary greatly depending on how the question is asked. Multiple surveys show that a significant proportion of males are still reading books, though they’re doing so less frequently than they used to. And it’s clear that if there is a crisis of declining reading rates, it is affecting men and women, boys and girls._"
#News #Data #DataViz #Statistics #Reading #Australia #Education #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon
@zevon @bibliolater @bookstodon Most Americans of any gender have not read a book since High School.
And some not even when they were in high school.
@bibliolater @books @bookstodon Well, I’m a man and I love to read.
@bibliolater This certainly seems to be anecdotally the case on dating apps, sigh. I miss people who read, deeply.
And - deeply unpopular opinion - though I appreciate the accessibility and don't want to be ableist, I'm not convinced it's the same to listen to an audio book. It seems in many of the online book discussion groups I'm in those who have listened to the book generally have far more superficial comments and often seem to miss nuances or minor plot points. (I get it; I listen to podcasts while doing other things, which is often quite similar; but I'm aware I'm not absorbing the information as well, too.)
But these could be my own personal biases and pedantic snobbery talking as opposed to any useful or valid observations. I do know that. 🤷♀️
@schatzie27 @bibliolater I think audiobooks have even more variation that print books.
Ie an audiobook has both the author’s words and the audiobook reader(s) who can impact how well you catch nuances and follow the story. I’ve given up on audiobooks where I find the narrator unlistenable (or the format in the case of highly produced audiobooks with effect etc too distracting for me)
But a great voice talent like Andy Serkis narrating the Lord of the Rings highlights lots of nuances for me
@Rycaut @bibliolater Certainly, a well-produced audiobook is a pleasure to listen to and will capture a person's attention. I've listened to some that, to be quite honest, were more like old-timey radio shows from the 1930s and 1940s (I had a cassette set of those as a kid I listenend to devotedly).
But several things are worth thinking about in your own comment. First, if you had read the unlistenable books - with the narration, syntax, or character idioms, slang, or accents up to your own imagination - would you have also DNF'ed those books? Was it the audio quality or the content that turned you away? If the audio content, than that's interesting and, in my view, is a solid point for reading instead of listening if able.
It's also worth noting, on the side, that many visually impaired people still prefer reading brail rather than audio books because they too understand that reading is not the same process as listening, just like watching a marathon on TV is not going for a run.
Just things you're comment made me think of and wonder; not trying to be argumentative or anything, to be clear. Just love delish brain noshes. 🙂
Which brings me to my second point/question, which is we know reading activates both sides of the brain and more neural connections than listening does. Conversely, tying a physical activity to a listening prompt (kinda sorta not really hypnosis) can strengthen memory or build habit.
So my question for you is whether you always listen to ypur books the same way, i.e. doing the same physical activity, or whether you do all sorts of things while listening. I'm just curious, and obvs you don't have to answer.
@bibliolater @bookstodon
Men aren't anywhere close to a coherent group.
There are men who are avid readers. There are men who are occasional readers. There are men who haven't read a book since high school.
Being less judgmental might help to get more people (and yes, that includes men) reading more books.