Your Brain Wants You to Keep Scrolling

With the literacy crisis and the rise of open artificial intelligence storming today's world, a significant drop in the act of reading seems to be placed at the center of it all. Neuroscientist Dr. Maryanne Wolf and journalist Ezra Klein discuss this topic in the episode “This Is Your Brain on Deep Reading.” They explore how reading affects the brain and why deep reading is important. In this new age that we are living in, digital screens have altered the attention span of many people. This shift has made it harder for individuals to maintain focus for long periods of time. An article published by the Speakwise Team stated that, on average, the attention span for screen time usage has dwindled to 47 seconds since 2004. As technology continues to become a larger part of everyday life, the way people read and process information has evolved too, prompting an important question: How can we preserve deep reading in an increasingly digital world?

As I’m currently writing this article, I’m imagining thousands of English teachers around the world leaping with joy at the opportunity to answer my question. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy reading a mid-sized book every now and then and often recommend a book to a friend, saying it “changed my life,” but I never understood the actual effects reading could have on our brains, or rather, what the lack of reading could mean for them.

Researchers at Emory University apparently had the same question. By using an experimental design and fMRI scans, researchers tracked the brain activity of participants as they read the novel Pompeii. Over the course of 19 consecutive days, participants were asked to read certain portions of the novel each night and then return the next day to take a short quiz and have their brains scanned.

What’s interesting about the results is that the brains showed a deeper connection in the left temporal cortex the following mornings. This meant that even though the participants were not currently reading the book, their brains were still developing and processing new information hours after reading. This process is known as systems consolidation. Newly formed memories are placed within the hippocampus, the “waiting room” for information, and are slowly integrated into the neocortex, the “filing cabinets.” In a way, this study suggests that the typical phrase often said after reading a book, “this book changed my life,” really can imply that one's life was changed.

So, if the positive results that come from deeply reading a book a few days a week can expand our capacity and knowledge of new topics and details, what would the side effects be if reading were removed from our everyday lives?

With push notifications and smartphones storming our world, we’ve subconsciously familiarized ourselves with content that requires little to no attention. If your phone screen were to light up or vibrate right now, you’d automatically assume that a notification about something new had entered your phone, giving your brain a short hit of dopamine. While the notification could just be the weather app informing you that a thunderstorm is approaching, your brain is now hooked and wired to wait patiently for the next short sentence to appear on your screen, giving you tons of information with minimal work required from you.

In a 2024 survey by Reviews.org, it was noted that 80.6% of Americans check their phone within 10 minutes of waking up. “The average American now spends 4 hours and 30 minutes on their phone daily.” The continuous action of merely searching a few words or skimming an email has recently become fairly common, potentially diminishing our attention spans.

The effects of a low attention span can lead to higher levels of stress and anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and sleep deprivation, to name a few. Our brains have grown detached from their original purposes, and it’s entirely our fault. Deep reading engages multiple regions of the brain by strengthening the white matter that connects different areas and forming new neurons. Without a constant source of new information for our brains to comprehend, they begin to shut down as we continue to read the highlighted blue text results every time after a quick Google search.

While it may seem that the impact we’ve made on our brains is irreversible, there are still opportunities for us to combat the lifestyle we’ve learned to live by. In the podcast “This Is Your Brain on Deep Reading,” discussions of the more “efficient” choice to briefly skim over words are noted as something we as a society constantly do. But it doesn't have to be this way. Maryanne Wolf explains that we have to be intentional with our reading habits.

Establishing a general purpose for what we are reading, whether for quick information or for a deeper understanding, can help guide our brains toward a direction of growth. Additionally, creating environments that are stimulant-free and dedicated solely to reading and comprehending information can help improve our brain's ability to retain knowledge and expand our attention span. Lastly, choosing to read from paper books rather than screens can help avoid the natural reflexes encouraged by digital devices, allowing more time for processing and critical thought.

The effects that deep reading can have on the brain are something that I believe my generation needs to hear. We are currently in the more formative stages of our lives, and allowing a device to ruin that should not be something we let happen. In a world that is teaching us to consume information faster each day, the greatest thing we can preserve is our ability to stop and understand beyond our screens.

Work Cited

Team, Speakwise. “Attention Span Statistics 2026: Focus Duration, Digital Shrinkage, and Cognitive Decline.” SpeakWise, 29 May 2026, speakwiseapp.com/blog/attention-span-statistics.

Santos-Longhurst, Adrienne. “What Are the Causes of a Short Attention Span, and How Can I Improve It?” Healthline, 22 Feb. 2019, www.healthline.com/health/short-attention-span.

A Novel Look at How Stories May Change the Brain. esciencecommons.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-novel-look-at-how-stories-may-change.html.

This Is Your Brain on Deep Reading. Ezra Klein Podcast, www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-maryanne-wolf.html.