The Life-Altering Effects of Reading Literature in the Modernized and Digitized World

 

Our world has come to such a culmination point where reading WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter threads are considered 'actual reading'. They become inevitable for day-to-day communication and work, whereas reading literature has become a luxury. If reading social media threads is a need and reading novels, poems, and dramas are luxuries, we again return towards 'Intellectual Barbarism'. Producing doctors, engineers, computer programmers, and other skilled and talented individuals is very important for the development of our society but promotes artists like writers, poets, dramatist, actors, painters, and digital designers also inevitable. Our society needs a combination of both scientific and aesthetic attributes. Consider the concept of the i-phone. It is scientifically the most powerful phone but at the same time the body, ecosystem, and apps designed for the i-phone are also aesthetic, making it one of the most valued gadgets of this century. Focusing back on reading is a nourishing of mind and soul, but only nonfiction reading like textbooks, guides, manuals, how-to books, self-development books makes the readers intellectual, success-hungry zombies who have no/little sense of humane aspects.

Reading literature is important because it teaches the universal human experience.  It provides different meanings to different people or teaches different lessons to the same person at various stages of their lives. Literature unites the readers with the world because humans' individual experiences are limited to their senses. Reading fiction opens up the world of adventures that they will never have in reality; can go the places (both imaginary and real) where they cannot go in their lives can feel those feelings they have never felt in an absolute sense. So literature reading is the experience in broadening the mindscape.

The reading of literature has a civilizing effect on humans. There is an extreme danger of education being used primarily to turn out engineers, lawyers, doctors, accountants, businessmen and businesswomen, and other professionals who lack human feelings and have been described as elite barbarians. According to Leo, "A lot of what is offered as art in our modern world is what Tolstoy called "counterfeit art." It is disingenuous and produced mainly for money. Some of the characteristics of phoney art are imitation and stunning and unusual effects.”

Literature is broadly defined as written work, especially those considered to have superior or lasting artistic merit. The stories captured in literature work are most captivating and amaze and give the reader the feel of what the character in the story is going through. Literature exposes the causes of people's disagreement and quarrels. It presents people's perceptions and morals.  It is a medium for relaying people's experience and history. It has a unique element of entertaining its readers. When we read literature, the stories we find gives us relief from our usual chores. After a busy schedule, one always feels a very great relief after reading a thriller or just reading through a short comedy. We experience humour by reading a work of literature and the scene in the story. Literature is a vital source of information. It provokes our imagination. An avid reader of literature develops the capability to infer other people's thought and emotions.

Some art pieces can present characters that we can associate with and expose morality in society. Literature shows people's sense of righteousness and justice. It acts like a mirror.

By 'reading through the lines' to understand the meaning, intent, and the writer’s message, readers extend their thinking to new ideas and possibilities. Readers also learn more about history, society and cultures through the reading of different eras. These historical insights and a glance of the past might ignite curiosity to research more or go deep into further reading within that genre or era. Readers also gain more knowledge the more they read, giving them a foundation of knowledge to participate in intelligent conversations with peers.

Literature uncovers people's way of entertainment and social life. Written by different writers from various parts of the world, literature presents various topics thus a rich source of information. The multiplicity of literature is a rich source of information about culture or history. Anyone who has developed the habit of reading literature is no doubt an informed and elite person. Literature provides knowledge and entertainment, encourages creativity, and offers an escape for readers, enriching our lives in more ways than one. The digitized world has opened up a new world of literature with robust platforms for e-literature on Kindle, Wattpad, Google Playbooks, GoodReads and so on. These platforms not only cater for the needs of literature to the readers but also sparks conversation and excitement in the literary world.

Reading literature is a proven method of reducing stress and relaxing. It has positive effects upon both the mind and body have been demonstrated by several studies. Not only can reading literature have a constructive impact on your mental and emotional wellbeing, but it can also help decrease blood pressure and lower the heart rate. Reading a great book can absorb your total attention, allowing you to forget everyday life stresses.

Thus, reading literature has life-altering effects on humans. The only thing is that we, humans, need to give some quiet time to books to do their magic on us.

Regards.

Dr Bhavin Chauhan

Courtesy: 

Laura. (2021). The importance of literature & benefits of reading books. What's Hot?. https://whatshotblog.com/importance-of-literature-benefits-of-reading-books/

Literature. (n.d.). eNotes. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-is-the-study-of-literature-important-what-408329

Selden, R. (2016). Practising theory and reading literature: An introduction. Routledge.

Speake, J. (2014). Literature of travel and exploration: An encyclopedia. Routledge.

The importance of literature for your future career — Newham sixth form college. (2020, April 22). Newham Sixth Form College. https://www.newvic.ac.uk/careersblog/2020/4/21/px8jhn27cdv3zn2uo8wr8crkeby1xx

The importance of literature in a 21st-century world. (2018, December 28). Coster Content. https://www.costercontent.co.uk/blog/writers-corner-importance-literature

The purpose of reading literature. (n.d.). GRIN – Publish your bachelor or master thesis, term papers, dissertation and essays for free. https://www.grin.com/document/370492