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/lit/ - Literature

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10776507 No.10776507 [Reply] [Original]

Do you think reading is seen as unpopular because there aren't any reward system points like in gaming or social media where you can get validated by others?

>> No.10776512

>>10776507
Where do you think you are sonny?

>> No.10776520

>>10776507
No. DFW hit the nail on the head in someinterview.

Some people just hate being alone, and while many of us can get lost in words most people find the idea of reading for an extended amount of time very lonely. It's why you may know someone that is very smart but doesn't read - they don't want to be faced with just themselves.

There isn't an art form more introspective than books, and I think people are put off by that. Also even short books can take non-readers multiple days to finish, and some people just don't want the commitment. Not to mention that, ya know, the media has made fun of bookworms as much as they can until everyone is fully convinced that being smart makes you a nerd.

So yeah, social stigma keeping people down once again.

>> No.10776547
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10776547

>>10776520
>most people find the idea of reading for an extended amount of time very lonely. It's why you may know someone that is very smart but doesn't read - they don't want to be faced with just themselves.
How do I fix this? I remember all the times I've been helpless and in fear often when I read and how I'm still worthless, I play the memories over and over again in my head. I shitpost 12 hours a day and watch films till I fall asleep and do it all over again because it distracts me even though I'm by myself.

>> No.10776550

Reading hurts.

>> No.10776554

>>10776520

I also noticed when I was growing up a lot shilling a hatred for books and reading was very constant in the media. I wonder why this was.

>> No.10776557

>>10776547
Just be around people. You cannot "fix" yourself and you should not try. Maybe get into theater or spoken word poetry. If you hate yourself for hating yourself it will only get much worse

>> No.10776566

>>10776547
Stop focusing on finishing books, or finishing your life. Take it day by day, page by page. Try not to think, just do.

>>10776554
My rational brain says it is just a projection of insecurity, and a way to put people who are smarter down. My conspiracy brain tells me it's to put people off thinking for themselves.

>> No.10776570

>>10776557
>Just be around people
But I feel even worse when I'm around others because I'm constantly reminded by how fearful I am. After I left school my time spent alone for years has been great, I've hardly ever felt dissatisfied or wanting companionship.
One time when I read for 2 weeks straight because I had a cold I felt a deep melancholy and started to give serious thought on how and when I would probably kill myself. Then one day I decided to rewatch farscape I felt like a kid again and all of my sadness just washed away, how does visual entertainment have such a huge effect on me?

>> No.10776582

I think it's one of those things people think they "should" do, but when it comes down to it they're not used to putting in the focused attention to actually engage with books (beyond basic bestseller stuff. And even that is a "commitment" for the average person). A lot of people probably put it in the category of exercising more, eating healthy, getting more sleep - new year's resolution-type stuff that people want to want to do.

>> No.10776586

Are you talking about what makes reading an unpopular activity... Or why it's SEEN as the trait of an unpopular individual?

If it's the first one, possible explanations have been provided (even by yourself).

If you're talking about how reading is being made to look bad, you have to thank America, STEM and business types, their celebrity obsession and their anti intellectual Chad ways, among other things.

>> No.10776657

>>10776586

Both but worshiping STEM in the media could be why. There's been absolutely zero shows or movies that glorify literature or philosophy and every character always seems to have a job pertaining to science or IT.

>> No.10776710

>>10776566

It's clearly some Marxist conspiracy. Government and schools don't want people doing well, what they want is followers, people who will fall in line and do whatever they say or preach without question. Like how in the middle ages the nobles took away the rights to literacy from the surfs so they could follow orders and do manual shit, the same thing is happening just on a more consumerist scale.