Growing up, most of us had books in our hands from day 1. Whether they be coloring books, Dr. Seuss books, or even mysterious novels. The days of going through books all through elementary school were great, but those days are coming to an end. With almost every novel that is noteworthy becoming a movie and all breaking news being aired on TV instantly, the print medium for books and news is becoming extremely obsolete. Even books are being converted into digital files read by devices such as a Kindle or Nook, but that is not the matter at hand. The laziness of our society has allowed our youth to grow up with Hollywood as a parental unit.
The problem with video as a medium versus a book is that it is the easy way out for entertainment. Those that settle with movies and Tv to learn their news and narratives are cheating themselves. The magic of the print medium is to exercise the mind. When you read a book, say Harry Potter (before the movie), you will imagine all the settings based on all the senses that the author provides. Interestingly enough, you will see the setting to look one way and another person reading it will see it a completely different way. That is the magic of reading. Your imagination tells the story. When you watch a movie, you are seeing someone else’s interpretation of a story and ruins any originality you may have pictured in your head. The magic of imagination is beyond any special effects that can be produced from Hollywood and should not be diminished due to the lack of energy to pick up a book.
Yes, the print medium is a dying field. No, this should not be. When I have kids, I am going to dust off some books and make them read from a hard bound book, not from an LCD screen or watch a TV to learn. The imagination is one of the most powerful assets that an individual has. If you do not exercise it, you will lose it, and you will become a simplistic human being.