Why We Struggle to Read in the Age of Endless Scroll
A Lost Love
Remember when reading was simple? Maybe it was curling up under the covers with a torch, determined to finish just one more chapter. Maybe it was sitting cross-legged on a library floor, fingers tracing the colourful spines until you found the perfect book to borrow. Or maybe it was a teacher reading aloud, their voice shifting for every character, pulling you into a world that felt bigger than your classroom.
As children, we were surrounded by books. We were encouraged to visit libraries, collect book fair treasures, and spend lazy afternoons lost in stories. For many of us, reading was a doorway to magic, safety, or adventure.
Somewhere along the way, that easy connection faded. The stack of novels on the bedside table feels intimidating. Reading has become something we plan to do, but rarely get around to. What once felt natural now feels like hard work.
And it’s not because you’ve changed for the worse. It’s because the world has.
The Age of Scroll and the Fading Muscle of Focus
We live in what researchers call the “attention economy,” where our focus is constantly pulled by endless notifications, breaking news, and social media updates. These platforms are designed to keep us engaged, and every ping or swipe gives us a quick dopamine hit. Over time, our brains adapt, craving constant novelty rather than sustained attention.
Psychologist Gloria Mark, author of Attention Span, notes that our average attention on a screen has dropped to just 47 seconds. “We’re living in a world of perpetual distraction,” she writes, “and it’s rewiring the way we think.”
Reading, on the other hand, demands patience. It’s what cognitive scientist Maryanne Wolf calls a “deep reading circuit,” where the brain slows down, engages memory, imagination, and emotion all at once. This isn’t a skill we’re born with — it’s something we’ve built over centuries of written language. And like any skill, it weakens when neglected.
The loss of deep reading isn’t just a nostalgic ache for childhood stories. It has real effects:
We find it harder to empathise, because we aren’t spending as much time inhabiting other perspectives.
Our minds feel restless, because we’re conditioned to expect constant stimulation.
Stress levels rise, as we rarely give our nervous systems time to slow down.
As neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene says in Reading in the Brain, “Reading is not natural, but once acquired, it transforms the brain.” That transformation goes both ways — when we stop practicing, the pathways grow quieter.
But there’s good news: like any muscle, focus can be rebuilt.
Small Steps to Rebuild Focus
Instead of forcing yourself to read for an hour a day, start small and kind.
Create a ritual. A soft blanket, a candle, or a warm drink can signal to your mind that it’s time to relax.
Lower the pressure. Choose books that feel light and inviting. Short stories and poetry count.
Put your phone away for a few minutes. Even ten minutes of quiet can help your brain reset.
Celebrate tiny wins. Two pages are better than none.
If reading feels difficult, it’s not a sign of laziness or disinterest. Your brain has simply adapted to a noisy world.
Wanting to reconnect with books is already a powerful act of self-care.
Swelv exists to help you fall back in love with reading, at your own pace. Whether it’s five minutes or fifty, every page you turn is a small act of care for yourself in a noisy world.
