why you stopped reading

Why do bookworms stop reading? In this video, Sabrina explores why people who used to read a lot might not be able to pick up a book anymore. In the process, she challenges herself to read too many books in too little time.

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SOCIAL MEDIA
Sabrina
Melissa
Taha

CREDITS
Produced by Sabrina Cruz
Video Editing by Joe Trickey
Motion Design by Olivér Varga & Krisztina Varga

MUSIC

RECOMMENDED READING
Mental Illness Can Make It Hard to Read. Here’s Why — and What You Can Do (2019) by Sian Ferguson

Why We Don’t Read, Revisited (2018) by Caleb Crain

The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens (2013) by Ferris Jabr

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction (2011) by Alan Jacobs

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 local woman discovers books
00:17 u don't ReAlLy know mE
01:00 tab stash is a very good plugin for research
02:04 why you stopped reading
03:38 why i stopped reading
04:16 an elaborate excuse to buy a projector
07:04 reading vs emails | day 1
08:32 reading vs emails (reprise) | day 2
11:16 sabrina is an ipad baby | day 3
13:03 sabrina is also out of shape | day 4
13:51 paying the bills | interlude
15:05 good book! | day 4 continued
15:58 im sorry hank | day 5
19:06 how to read more books

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Welcome to the joke under the fold! Here's a novel one for you

I heard somebody died after reading a book... They were sentenced to death.

Leave a comment with the word SENTENCE to let me know you were here ;-)

[answerinprogress]

I hope you liked that video! If you did, consider giving it a share.
*What's your favourite book?* Currently, mine is Why Fish Don't Exist but that might just be because I really hate exercise.
- Sabrina

[rilke]

For me, school IS the reason I stopped reading. I’ve found that being assigned something makes it inherently unenjoyable and makes it feel like a chore. Reading was no exception.

[BB-tetc]

I think I actually read as much as I ever did.... just not books. Articles, documentation at work, video game flavour text... anything but books. It's always reading in service of doing something else.

[emmalynncraft]

“Finishing a non fiction book is kind of just like…’ah I’ve done my homework now’” never heard something more true lmao 💀

[TimeTraveller]

I was a passionate reader as a kid, and loved studying english literature. But once I reached aged 16-18 I had a teacher who seriously doubted my ability, would publicly humiliate me in class, would make back-handed compliments about my work when I did well. I did below average in my exams and came away from education feeling like I'd failed. But I've read 7 books so far this year! I am making time to reconnect with it.

[iheartabortion]

I too could read “a book a day” as a kid. Because I had no access to other entertainment and I’m not saying I hated my childhood but I see now it was a form of escapism. Probably the only reason I was able to get thru college too.

[Erik-pumj]

17:45 "I still have life outside of reading. And it's pretty hard to escape into a book when you are *vividly* aware that that life is still going on."
It's not that I don't have time, it's that I _feel_ like I don't have time because I'm stressed by what I'm not doing.

[creativenamegoeshere]

“Is it a problem if I don’t want to solve it?” Famous last words of every high schooler who has an English assignment due in 5 hours.

[WikiSorcerer]

One thing I learned in college that always stuck with was there is no shame in putting a book down without finishing it and starting a new one if that book bored you.

[scorpioigor]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention phones and social media as a reason why people stopped reading. Seriously, my attention span is completely destroyed due to social media. Our brains are being molded by the information dump that we get from pictures and short videos everywhere. Everything has to be instantly all the time, and that is making any activity that takes time and engagement a true hassle.

[rusttytoasttz]

“Damn, it sucks I haven’t read in so long.” -they said, just finishing the fourth 300, 000 word fanfiction of the month

[jasminele]

i used to read so much when i was child and it recently had the realization that i havent picked up a book for fun in a decade. i finally found out that im a sucker YA/romance and im so happy to be reading again!! also i missed Answer in Progress ily guys ur the best

[CourtneyCoulson]

I used to read as a child, because I had literally nothing better to do. These days, reading more than a few paragraphs is exhausting due to a head trauma. Now I work as a seamstress, so I technically read for six + hours a day because I listen to audiobooks. I used to think there was something inferior about listening to books, but now I'm actually consuming more books than I ever have in my life. Work smarter, not harder.

[evadietz]

Whenever I’m in a reading slump I choose from one of two categories:

1. I either read a children’s book
2. Or I read a raunchy, cheesy romance book. You know- the ones with the shirtless guys on the front

This usually gets my brain used to reading again without overworking it.

[なぼ-qs]

No. 5: You spend so much time reading texts for your studies/education that you cannot fathom sitting down and reading after you're finally done with 6 hours of academic reading 😥

[paboland]

Everyone on Twitter: She’s gonna solve wordle with ai!!
Sabrina: im trying to go back to my fifth grade reading skills where i don’t dissociate after reading 10 words

[Jo-kyqf]

It's been a year since I watched this video and since then I've read about 30 books. I forgot how great it felt to chill out and be completely consumed in a great story. Thanks for the reminder guys x

[stevenmorgan]

Idk about for others, but I stopped reading for pleasure because of guilt while I was in college. Anytime I'd go to pick up a book, I just felt guilty for not studying or reading a textbook. It also made me feel childish because I felt that as an adult I should be reading more advanced books for education. . . .so instead I watched cartoons all day and ignored reading altogether for years. That didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to

[derekfnord]

I used to beat myself up a bit over how I used to be such an avid reader, but wasn't anymore. Eventually, I realized that I *_do_* still read, all the time. It's just moved to the Internet. Now, instead of reading books or magazines, we're reading web sites, or reading Facebook, or reading Twitter, or reading Reddit, or reading emails, or reading text messages, etc. I don't think we should be concerned that we're *_not_* reading; I think we should be concerned about *_what_* we're reading...

[HeinzeC]

Not cheating. You said "5 books in 5 days", not "1 book a day for 5 days".