Reading vs. Watching: Which is Better? - Paper Example

Reading or watching, a never-ending discussion since the transition of multimedia popularity and influence in school activities such as learning skills. Some persons acknowledge liking reading while quite a number is settling for the fast-spreading media usage in the world. This paper presents an argumentative essay, which contrasts/compares reading and the use of media.

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Is reading a lost art? Are people missing all the rewards of reading? When reading, one has to be active, unlike watching multimedia, which is passive. The process of storing information obtained through a slow process like reading shows that reading is an art. Studies have shown that information obtained through books is stored for longer than those of videos (Ashida et al., 2016). People are missing all the rewards of reading, since watching multimedia is effortless, more like spoon-feeding. No efforts are stored to learn something.

How does the habit of reading start? Are young people today missing some benefits of learning vocabulary and the use of imagination? Reading habits start as time schedules. These schedules have books or any literary material studied within that time. When reading, one grasps the vocabulary and can use their imagination to the storyline advantages. Reading enlarges the imagination power and creative influence in one's ability to understand a story (Becker et al., 2017). The case is different from movies since they are less accurate, and the objective is not as careful as those in real texts. However, multimedia are also very convenient alternative when the period is short. Moreover, with visual effects, the human brain's affinity to grasping such content is high than mere reading.

For instance, many persons I interact with prefer reading when learning and wanting to retain the information. Developing literary skills improves grammar, vocab and social skills. One cannot develop speed while watching movies. James Hill, a friend of mine, though it is easy to skim books, unlike movies. Table of content and index search make it easier to switch the reading section, unlike watching where most shows do not support paging (Rasmussen et al., 2016). Besides, my family reading schedules usually comprise of two scenarios. Learning depends on the grasping pace. Reading is slow speed depending on one's ability while watching multimedia requires electricity, and the pace is constant.

Conclusion

In summary, learning with depth requires reading. Watching multimedia helps grasp temporary, less important aspects. One needs to ascertain the quality of his/her reading content because reading its time-consuming, unlike videos. Therefore, one should not spend long hours reading crap, which he or she could have just watched and passed.

References

Ashida, T., Itagaki, H., Masuda, S., Miyamura, T., & Watanabe, T. (2016). Method for reading file using plurality of tape media. U.S. Patent No. 9,262,081. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f2/ad/65/ad98852f50d505/US9262081.pdf

Beckers, B., Kholodilin, K. A., & Ulbricht, D. (2017). Reading between the lines: Using media to improve german inflation forecasts. https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=968120070017096028067088009066092081127015066012065038099103067095067121118101087000019101125033110002058114106112067030087118013010054030001012068070082068096087004037003126010029116080118115112002080116087097087125094096026093003121127007030024083&EXT=pdf

Rasmussen, K. S. G. (2016). Reading or using a digital edition? Reader roles in scholarly editions. Digital Scholarly Editing, 119. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/j.ctt1fzhh6v.11.pdf