In a world where iPads entertain toddlers, TikTok raises teens, and movies hit theaters faster than attention spans can keep up, books fall into the background noise. They sit forgotten in a school backpack or stacked on a shelf like decoration, but books can shape a kid’s childhood, brain, and their entire life without them even realizing it.
When a child opens a book, beyond reading words, they step into another person’s universe. In movies, the faces, the voices, the setting and even the emotions originate from someone else’s imagination, leaving no room for a child to envision an idea in their own way. In books, however, a child can build worlds in his or her own head, casting whoever they see fit and curating a world that reflects their creativity. The ability to create entire landscapes from sentences alone builds creativity in a way that screens can not replicate.
While creativity sparks imagination, empathy acts as the guiding flame. Books quietly teach kids to feel for people who differ from them. A story about a young refugee child shares an emotional connection, not only facts. The ability to feel for others in any capacity and try to understand how a person may feel in a certain situation stems from books to a substantial degree. Kids finish these stories carrying pieces of lives they will never live, but can understand. This emotional stretching forms kinder humans who can comprehend the impact of situations on others.
Books can also influence identity. Children grapple with figuring out how they want to turn out as adults, and storybooks can act as the puzzle pieces they need. With characters to admire, question and learn from, books can leave lasting marks on an impressionable child. These characters can provide safe spaces for kids as well. The safety found behind a page allows them to feel emotion despite the negative stigma around expressing vehemence. Lacking the ability to proactively disclose feelings can be dissolved with books because reading about a character experiencing a similar issue can help them work through personal issues. Books can act as emotional mirrors and emotional practice. They let kids experience heavy feelings in manageable doses.
“When I read books, I become the protagonist. I could see how they behaved and looked up to them, so I tried my best to become them. Reading really helped shape my identity, and even now I can pinpoint what parts of my personality come from different characters I’ve read about. I understand that with social media it’s easier to see all of these different people with a swipe, but you just can’t connect with an influencer the way you can with a book character because you spend so much more time understanding the intricacies in their lives, not what they put out for you to see,” sophomore Addie O’Neil said.
Vocabulary, which sounds painfully academic, emanates from challenging books. While a kid’s vocabulary does not accumulate from memorizing different words in class, children can stitch together what a word means when reading specific scenarios or engaging in different contexts. Books grow language organically, and a strong vocabulary can help children succeed in all of their classes and future endeavors. Robust lexicon snowballs into strong writing, clearer communication, higher grades and a louder voice when facing adversity
“Books are such an important part of kids’ lives because I just can’t imagine growing up without reading. For me personally, I was required to read for 20 minutes before bed every night so that I could have a better vocabulary. If social media continues to grow the way it is, I’m afraid that kids in the future will be stunted and not score as high on tests or be slightly worse in their careers,” O’Neil said.
While social media allows for quick entertainment, it cannot compete with the implications of books. With the rise of social media, digital escapades have crushed the gilt pages of storybooks. Instead of a 300-page novel, 15-second TikToks and picture-perfect Instagram posts fill in the place books once held. Where publications used to act as the main form of escapism, inspiration and guide, social media now fills that role in a quicker, louder and addictive way.
Without books teaching patience, depth, imagination and emotional understanding, kids can lack specific fundamental aspects of their personalities that remain pertinent to social functioning. Social media teaches speed, comparison and instant reaction, whereas books allow feelings to sink in over time.
