From the time immemorial we are reading books. Reading is a fantastic form of knowledge acquisition. It helps in better cognitive processing which uses multiple parts of our brain. It also helps us in doing imagination and helps in visuospatial processing. It stimulates the areas of brain like left occipital-temporal cortex which responds to images of faces. Besides this it also helps in detailed picturization of the story whatever we read.

But in this technological superiority era many good books are converted to picture shows. Many cartoon stories have become series or movies. That is more appealing to young generation. Motion pictures are more eye catching and attracts children more. That’s why now a days children are locked to screens for long periods.

WHAT IS BETTER BOOK OR MOVIE

So how is reading books different from watching movies and how can we take advantage of the benefits of both?  Reading books can give you many more details than watching a movie and also helps brain function among other things.  Watching movies is great for social life and a great form of entertainment among other things.  Both are help in stress relief, growth in knowledge and vocabulary.

ADVANTAGE OF BOOK

The mental stimulation that occurs from reading a book is far reaching.  The reader learns words they have never learnt. It increases vocabulary.

It stimulates memory area. Several studies say that reading books can prevent Alzheimer’s. It’s postulated that 15 pages of book per day can prevent progression of Alzheimer’s.

Reading can reduce stress.  It relaxes muscles and takes us to a new imaginary world. Six minutes of reading can reduce stress levels by 68 percent.

Reading a good book is highly imaginative. It uses multiple areas of our brain. That prevents brain shrinkage.

Reading a good book at bedtime is a fantastic form of sleep hygiene.

ADVANTAGES OF MOVIES

Movies are highly furnished version of the book. Still it helps better viewing of the story. It stimulates the visuospatial area of brain. But unfortunately it increases screen time.

It can also release stress and makes us happy. Many times we feel difficulty to complete a book for time. But movie is fixed time.

WHAT EVIDENCE SAY

In 2013, a research team examined the effects of television on the brains of 276 children, along with amount of time spent watching TV and its long-term effects. They found that the more TV the kids watched, parts of their brain associated with higher arousal and aggression levels became thicker. The frontal lobe also thickened, which is known to lower verbal reasoning ability.

Another research was done on how reading a novel affected the brain based on fMRI readings. After reading a particular novel, the students had increased connectivity in parts of the brain that were related to language and sensory motor region of the brain, suggesting that readers experienced similar sensations to the characters in the book.

In my view reading story is better for our brain then watching it as movie.

What is your view? Please read and tell in comment section.

Reference

Nix D, Spiro RJ, editors. Cognition, education, and multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology. Routledge; 1990.