TOO LONG; DIDN’T READ

Modern life is absurd. I say this because modern life exists on “The Internet,” a place where memes have replaced reading. Yup. If you can’t fit an idea into a meme, it’s “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read).

I used to think the idea of something being “too long to read” only applied to software agreements, Supreme Court opinions, and my essays, but apparently, that went to the wayside in 2020, when even my erudite friends started saying that more than two sentences, in any format, is “TL;DR.”

So, seriously, People Who Still Read, how are you dealing with this trend? How are you reacting to a society that says, “If it isn’t short, easy, and funny, it’s not worth my time?” I ask because I think this trend is destroying intelligent debate and critical thinking, two pillars of a responsible society.

Gimme Gimme Gimme Memes

I still read. A lot. I read about 1000 pages a week (500 words = one page), and while I get paid for 300 of that, the other 700 are for pleasure. But before you get on my case about being a pretentious, lecturing, finger-wagging jerk, I also watch tons of TV and movies, so I’m not an elitist about entertainment.

My issue with the decline of reading has nuance, which is my exact problem with “TL;DR”—it excludes nuance! “But Mike!” a fake reader is exclaiming to me as I write this even though that’s impossible. “It’s not my fault I don’t read anymore. It’s our species! We’ve lost our attention spans!” this fake person says.

Um, Sorry, fake not-reader, but I just don’t buy this “our attention spans have shrunk” BS. Not one bit.

Reading is not related to our attention span. There’s no evidence for that. Quitting is related to our attention spans. And quitting isn’t correlated to any one activity. No matter what it is that we’re doing, when we feel our focus waning, all of us have the same choice: keep going, or quit.