Why Reading Matters: A Holistic Study for the Digital Age (DVD)

Reading was never a device of evolution, and yet human brains have adjusted to it and attained specific effects from it that affect mental and emotional states. Reading has built societies and changed the face of civilization. In the 21st Century, is there a place for reading? Can it compete with video gaming, blogging, and short-form information outlets provided by the internet? In this documentary, originally prepared for the BBC under the title "Why Reading Matters", facts and figures are examined concerning reading, the brain, and technological challenges of our time.

In using neuroscience to study reading's effects upon the brain, MRIs and MEG imaging show experts how the brain responds to the act of reading. From there behavior often shifts to reflect the changes in the brain in response to reading. Research has demonstrated that reading has positive effects upon both emotional and intellectual development within the individual which then corresponds with social shifts as well. In a technologically oriented society interested in other forms of information and entertainment, does the lack of reading affect individuals, and by extension, society? Is there a real lack of reading or reduction in reading habits? Do new forms of reading in digital form affect the brain in the same ways? Does reading really matter anymore?

Why Reading Matters: A Holistic Study for the Digital Age (DVD)

• ISBN: 978-1-61616-823-0
• Run Time: 59 Minutes
• Copyright Date: 2009
• CC