In today’s society, it’s rare to see a student reading a book instead of scrolling through their phone. It is not every day that you walk into someone’s dorm room and see stacks of books on their desk. This shouldn’t be rare.

Take the W.E.B. du Bois Library, for example – there are millions of books spanning all the floors, but a large majority of them sits untouched. Literature that once spanned thousands of minds fades away as fewer people read.

Most books that students read are forced upon them throughout high school and through seemingly useless general education requirements here at the University of Massachusetts. Unsurprisingly, this makes a lot of students hate the concepts of books and reading. This needs to change.

Academically, reading books can be a rich way to interpret themes, analyze historical events and enhance analytical skills, which are important skills for all students. Books can challenge the mind while simultaneously offering it new ideas about society, life and the self. Books are vessels for increasing knowledge and reducing stress levels.

As society continues to develop digitally, people are reading less, ultimately hurting their creativity and vocabulary. As fewer people read, our brains may be subject to conformity, preventing us from creating our own opinions. Lack of nuance is even greater emphasized by lack of reading, which is further discussed and supported in Daniel Macomber’s column about nuance.

Furthermore, books can act as the best and healthiest form of escapism, offering readers immersion into essentially any world they desire. Those who prefer the “visual medium” as opposed to reading hundreds of pages probably just haven’t found the right book. Often, many famous and popular movies are based on or inspired by books, which further supports the idea that reading should be more widespread.

High school English classes are known for forcing Shakespeare plays or old, difficult classics upon students. This basically sets them up to hate literature as a whole. While books like these are important for education, they often do not appeal to most students. It shouldn’t be this way. Educators should strive to enlighten students with books while also encouraging and recommending them to seek out books that interest them.

From a young age, I have been a reader, which has aided me in finding my passions and my career path. I can thank my parents for encouraging me to read as well as incorporating literature into my life. Parents and educators are instrumental in inspiring children to read. A more productive society and our mental health depend on it.

As someone who reads consistently for both academic and entertainment purposes, I can certainly attest that reading can be fun. There are ways to make reading enjoyable and less of a mundane and forced task. Find a genre you enjoy – there’s a book out there for everyone. Websites like Goodreads are great places to seek out different genres and book reviews. Checking out your local library or bookstore is the first step in initiating the almost forgotten wonders of reading.

While reading may seem less engaging and interactive than other activities, it’s a great way to calm down at the end of the day. Allowing yourself time to break away from the screens is imperative for mental health and happiness overall. So, if you ever have a few extra minutes in your day, you should read a book.

Julia Bragg can be reached at [email protected].