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Guest Post

4 Reasons Why Reading is Better than Watching TV

I’ll admit, I’ve binge-watched my fair share of awesome TV shows. Westworld, Charmed, Avatar: The Last Airbender (<<< THIS). Their plots are mind-blowing, with characters you just want to set off an adventure with, even if their special effects don’t always stand the test of time.

While a TV licence isn’t worth the price tag these days, Netflix subscriptions definitely are! For anyone outside the UK wondering what on earth I’m talking about, yes, we have to pay $183 a year for the privilege of watching TV. Scandalous, isn’t it?

But here’s the thing about books – they are arguably the better way to escape reality. Before the TV fandoms throw rocks through my windows, let me explain why. (I’m just kidding fanboys and girls, we know you’re all a lovely bunch.) Here are four reasons why reading is way better than TV.

We Can Read Anywhere

I’m not just talking about reading in the bath – we have phones and WiFi now, we can’t pretend we don’t watch TV while swimming in bubbles. The only real difference there is that we risk electrocution.

But are the flight attendants going to tell you to put your book away when the plane comes down? If they do, they’re just jealous of your hardback. Say goodbye to Brooklyn 99, and whip out the Prison of Azkaban until you are safely at the landing gate.

Where else are our electronics banned? Phones off in the hospital, people. They say it’s for safety – though we’re not sure how – so, we’re forced to pick up a magazine and the latest John Grisham. Forced? What am I saying? We GET to.

The Special Effects Are Never Outdated

Sorry, Charmed, but your orbs and fireballs just don’t stack up against the special effects we have today. Jurassic Park has stood the test of time, and even twenty-five years later, the quality holds up. Though it usually depends on the budget, TV shows and films run the risk of losing their quality over time.

Books? They’ll never have that problem. Our imaginations set the standard when we read, and for that reason, we are never disappointed by the special effects. The content might be disappointing sometimes, and that isn’t easy to work with, but how we imagine the worlds we read about is always satisfying to us. You won’t find any bad CGI here!

It Makes Us Look Smart

We could be watching documentaries, but it doesn’t matter. We’re still staring at screens and looking like zombies on ritalin. Head down, staring at our phone screens, some Cheeto dust in the corners of our mouths. It’s not the most intellectual look.

Imagine instead sitting on a train, book in hand and holding your chin as though you are considering something incredibly thoughtful. When in fact we’re actually reading Manga tucked into the pages of “The Great Gatsby.” The public perception of reading is generally good – if you read, you look like you’ve got a few brain cells to rub together. Until we can make watching TV look just as intellectual, people are going to judge us more favourably for holding a paperback than our iPads.

We Don’t Need Electricity

Can I get an amen? Electricity is cheap and so are chargers, but if our Kindle dies when we’re out and about and there are no outlets, what are we going to do? Wait until you get home to finish watching Love Island, that’s what.

Books get tatty and worn but their words don’t change, and they certainly don’t disappear entirely if they run out of battery. We are in no danger of boredom on our 9 hour flight to New York when we’ve got our trusty, tangible and electricity-free books.

In my opinion, books will always triumph over TV. We learn more, they don’t carry on without us when we fall asleep and they stand as a material reminder of our love for literature. In any case, one day our first editions are going to be worth a fortune!