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Why Replacing Your Screen Time With Reading Is Good For You

mindbeautysimplicity

One of my new found rediscovered hobbies is reading. I’ve always been a bookworm to some extent, but as I got older social media became the new thing & I felt like I didn’t have time for it anymore. I wanted to start this detox series with the topic of reading because I’ve discovered, you CAN make time for it – you just have to switch up your priorities. Reading has become my escape & way to find peace within this chaotic world. I read over five books a month now, share my reading wrap ups monthly [ here’s last’s months ] & even share amateur reviews on Instagram. Here’s Why Replacing Your Screen Time With Reading is Good For You:

You Stop The Habit of Mindless Scrolling

So many days wasted scrolling for hours on TikTok or Instagram – for what? To see a photo of someone’s sandwich? Another group photo of an event you weren’t invited to? Or better yet, just comparing someone else’s “perfect” feed to your own life. Instead, I make the conscious effort to put down the phone during those leisure moments & pick up a book [ or Kindle] instead. Stop getting so caught up in other people’s lives & escape to those fantasy stories or learn something new during that time. Even I discovered how much time you really have within a day. Now, instead of saying I scrolled through my news feed for four hours, I can say I read half a book.

You Become Smarter

It’s a scientific fact, reading makes you smarter. You can better comprehend your surroundings, you improve your interpersonal skills, you gain a sense of imagination, make better decisions both emotionally & rationally, improves your vocabulary, & even helps you reflect. I personally, love to read both fiction & nonfiction novels for this very reason. Although I love escaping to imaginary worlds, I also like improving myself with self help or learning a new task. There is endless knowledge within a bookshelf.

You Become More Creative

Tying in the imagination aspect to reading, this also helps those creative juices flow. Anytime I’m in a creative slump or having writers block – I’ll pick up a book to read. And most of the time, reading just a few chapters helps ignite that creativity for my own work once again. Reading books encourages inspiration & sometimes we need a little help within that department.

You Stop Comparing Your Life To Others

There are so many ways to distract the mind from comparing yourself to other people. Reading has been my favorite hobby to halt those bad habits. Who has time to worry about what other people are doing when you have beautiful stories to read about?

You Find Yourself Through The Stories

A bit cheesy but so true [ especially if you are one to annotate your books ]. I’ve found quotes to be so relatable to my personal struggles or experiences & sometimes other people’s words just explain your feelings far better than you ever could. Not only do certain lines resonate with me, but certain genres & storylines become a sense of my personality. We all have likes & dislikes when it comes to our TBR choices. I find myself leaning towards psychological thrillers, ghost stories & fantasies. But I also find comfort in the occasional romance. I had someone tell me, “you can tell a lot about a person by what they choose to read.” And I guess there is truth to that – unless you are like me & pick a lot of hyped bookstagram ones. But I think it’s a vulnerable thing to see what words people find beautiful.

You Become Happier

Rediscovering reading has made childhood Bee quite happy. It’s like a long lost love return to your life – at least for me. In this phase of healing, I try & find little moments & hobbies that bring a sense of joy to my days. And reading has been that saving grace. Even my husband notices this change in me & actually loves hearing me talk about books I’ve read & entices me with date nights to Barnes & Noble some. We even find ourselves reading on the couch together in pure silence just basking in the comfort of one another.

I shall leave you with my favorite quote by George R.R. Martin that pretty much sums up my feelings of books & it’s “I have lived a thousand lives and I’ve loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.”

-B

Published by mindbeautysimplicity

59 thoughts on “Why Replacing Your Screen Time With Reading Is Good For You”

  3. I’ve already wiped my phone of excess social media post-graduation and I *still* get stuck mindlessly scrolling. I always convince myself that it’ll be a nice break after work, but it just leaves me feeling worse! It definitely gets in the way of my creativity too. This creates a snowball affect between my creativity, productivity, and mood. This was a great reminder to put my phone down and pick up a cool book I’ve been meaning to read. Thank you for the lovely post! x

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  4. You have no idea how much I agree with this post. I still don’t have Tik Tok downloaded on my phone because I’m aware how time-consuming it is to those who have it around me. I have absolutely nothing against it but that’s not me. I already spend enough time on Instagram and I’m working on spending less and less time on there. Great post x

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  5. I’m so happy that you got into reading again! It’s such a good feeling to be back doing something that was a huge part of my life when I was younger. Though I will say, I’m still jealous and comparing myself to others – they’re just fictional.🤷🏻‍♀️

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  8. Everything you’ve stated in this post is so true. I’m a huge advocate for reading and try to read every day. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes. I always try to have a book with me to read when I need to pass time. Sharing this article because people need to read this!

    Awesome stuff!

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  10. I don’t use any social media at all except for WordPress (is that social media?). And I found a great app called Forest, which locks your phone while planting a virtual tree. If you open your phone, the tree will die. But if you get through the time without checking, the app plants a virtual tree in your forest. Finally, the trees can be exchanged for planting a real tree once you acquire enough of them. I’m really enjoying it!

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  11. Reading is a must for me. I always have a few books on the go and can’t go to sleep without reading a few pages. Sometimes on holidays , I get to read also in the afternoon , not just at night. With a book we are never bored, never alone. I am lucky to have a good library near by and recently I bought a kindle. As I am planning to publish a book ( September maybe) I want to see how my book will look like on kindle. ;-)))

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  13. I absolutely agree with this! Reading sparks creativity and is much more productive than scrolling for hours on social media. There are also so many genres to fit your mood, so there’s always something to learn whether it’s fiction or non fiction!

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  16. Ever since I got a phone, I spend too much time for my comfort just checking up on digital things that do not need to be checked up on. Love your highlights on why reading instead of using one’s phone is a wonderful way to reduce screen-time while benefiting from exploring lovely stories. 🙂

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  18. Reading is one of my favourite hobbies too! There’s just nothing better than a cup of tea and reading a book. I hadn’t thought of the many benefits though, thank you for sharing xx

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  21. I used to spend HOURS on TikTok but then I limited myself to 10 minutes a day and now I don’t have a desire to scroll through TikTok so I do have more time to read.
    I agree that reading does make you smarter and I was able to answer the million dollar question on the Danish version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire because I read it in a book haha (the contestant got it wrong though)
    Reading makes me happier too and I enjoy talking about the books I’ve read!

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  23. Excellent post! I am currently working on this myself and love to find articles that reaffirm my (good) choices. ☺️ Reading is soooooo much better than mindless scrolling!

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  24. I totally love books too. I attend our local literature festival every year and I absolutely love it! I agree, you can tell a lot about a person by the type of book they read!

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  25. Making comparisons rarely ever works out well. It’s a habit we all need to get out of. Mindless scrolling is something I need to work on as well. Whenever I’m watching TV I can’t help but scroll through Facebook just for something to do at the same time as watching TV

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  26. I couldn’t agree more! I have read so many books this past year since I quit scrolling social media as much. Not only do I feel better about myself, but I also find myself thinking more about overall health than comparison to others.

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  27. I love this! I agree that reading more is possible if you try and make it a priority. I’ve recently done a bit of a digital declutter to try and stop the mindless scrolling, and so far it’s working really well! Definitely agree that reading makes you happier too. Thank you so much for sharing x

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  29. This was really helpful thank you a lot I’ve been far from books lately but I know I’m determined to go back to reading thanks💝

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