Jy voel skuldig wanneer jy jouself in ‘n boek verloor? / Feeling guilty when you read?
Is lees nie bloot 'n vermorsing van tyd nie?
“Ek het actually ‘n lewe en daarom hóéf ek nie te lees nie.” Jongste rol sy oë en stoot sy ken vorentoe. Hy het darem intussen besef dat daar vir hom ook ‘n genre is, maar dis amper-amper krokodiltande trek om hom net eers aan die lees te kry.
“Lees is ‘n vermorsing van tyd. Ek kan dit nie verdra om te sien hoe mense sit en niks doen nie!” probeer ‘n volwassene my oortuig. Oudergewoonte voel ek hoe my bloeddruk die hoogte inskiet. Ek wil ontplof, inplof, iets-plof, maar ek weet voor my heilige siel dat sommige mense nie die waarheid wíl weet nie, nie eens al ‘steek ‘n by’ hulle Muhammed Ali-styl teen die voorkop nie.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” – Kofi Annan
Iewers het ek gelees dat daar ‘n direkte korrelasie tussen jeugmisdaad en ongeletterheid is.
Wat sê die wetenskap oor fiksie en die lees van fiksie?
- Volgens studies, het lesers meer empatie met hulle medemens as nie-lesers. ‘n Verbeeldingsvlug bring begrip. Hoekom? Want lesers plaas hulself tydelik in ‘n karakter se skoene en beleef sy/haar werklikheid. Diegene wat baie lees, stap dus voortdurend in nuwe karakters se spore.
- Woordeskat: navorsers het bevind dat fiksielesers oor ‘n beter woordeskat as nie-lesers beskik. Dis beslis die tipe voordeel wat ‘n mens in enige werk benodig.
- Lees bevorder ‘n goeie nagrus. Dis belangrik dat ‘n mens vir jouself ‘n slaaptydritueel te skep. Die laaste aktiwiteit waarmee jy besig is voordat jy aan die slaap raak, moet afstand skep van die res van jou dag.
- Geen mens se brein kan 24/7 aanhou werk nie. Die brein moet rus en fiksie help ons om afstand te skep en te herlaai. Volgens sekere studies het lees ongeveer dieselfde voordele as meditasie. Vergeleke met nie-lesers, slaap lesers beter, stres minder, het hoër selfagting en hulle mag selfs ‘n kleiner kans staan om aan depressie te ly. Navorsers aan die Universiteit van Sussex reken dat lees die beste manier is om stres te oorkom. Ek kan dit bevestig! Slegs 6 minute van lees verminder stres met 60%, verlig spierspanning en verander die aard van jou gedagtes, reken wetenskaplikes. Wanneer dit by stres kom, het lees groter voordele as musiek, ‘n koppie tee, ‘n staptog of ‘n videospeletjie.
- Navorsers het bevind dat fiksielesers ‘n kleiner behoefte aan ‘n definitiewe kognitiewe bevinding/einde het as nie-fiksielesers. In fiksie is ‘n oop einde en onsekerheid aanvaarbaar en dit stimuleer kreatiwiteit.
- Boeke verbeter verhoudings omdat dit die werklikheid simuleer. Fiksie help ‘n mens om ander se denkwyses te verstaan. Veral wetenskapsfiksie help ons om verandering te aanvaar en minder rigiede denkwyses te hê. Wetenskapsfiksie is toekomsgebaseerd. Die leser beleef en verstaan die veranderende omstandighede waarmee die karakters gekonfronteer word.
- Lesers ervaar ‘n mindere mate van kognitiewe agteruitgang soos wat hulle ouer word. Wanneer ‘n mens sestien is, klink tagtig baie ver, maar dit kom gouer as wat ‘n mens dink. Daar is selfs bewyse daarvoor dat lees ‘n mens se geheue stimuleer.
- Via stories leer ‘n mens ander omstandighede ken. Dit maak dat ‘n mens meer begrip vir ‘n ander persoon se omstandighede toon, reken wetenskaplikes. Dit beteken dus in effek ook dat lesers minder geneig daartoe behoort te wees om iemand anders te boelie, is dit nie? Ek is beslis ‘n aktiewe voorstander van leesprogramme by skole.
- Lesers ervaar oor die algemeen meer vreugde as nie-lesers. 76% lesers in Engeland het gesê dat dit hulle gelukkig maak wanneer hulle kan lees. Lesers is daartoe geneig om hulle omstandighede te aanvaar. Dit voel vir hulle dat dít wat hulle doen die moeite werd is.
Emosionele Intelligensie
Wanneer ons lees, stimuleer ons die deel van die brein wat verantwoordelik is vir emosionele intelligensie.
Wil jy ‘n emosioneel intelligente, gelukkige kind grootmaak? Koop vir hom/haar boeke of sluit aan by ‘n biblioteek.
Hoeveel moet ‘n mens lees? Slegs 20 minute per dag kan ‘n massiewe verskil maak.
Kry ‘n boek, ‘kry ‘n lewe’.
Boeke vir tieners?
Daar is regtig tans puik Afrikaanse tienerboeke beskikbaar. (Engels uiteraard ook.) Laat weet gerus indien jy na ‘n lys van goeie tienerboeke soek. (Stuur vir my ‘n e-pos via die kontak-bladsy.)
Hoe kry jý jou onwillige tieners aan die lees?
Reading, a waste of time, or not?
“I don’t need to read as I actually have a life.” My younger son rolled his eyes and looked defiant.
Not to worry: I’m excellent at challenges like this. He never wanted to read but having found the right genre, het turned into a ferocious reader. (The problem now, of course, is to find books of a similar genre that will capture his interest.)
“Reading is such a waste of time. I can’t handle people sitting around, doing nothing,” an adult recently told me. I felt a coronary attack approaching. My intestines started boiling. Unfortunately some people will never see the light, not even if it is the freight train about to hit them.
One of the studies I read, proved that there is a direct correlation between illiteracy and juvenile crime.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.” – Kofi Annan
What does science say about reading fiction?
- According to studies, readers have more empathy with other people than non-readers. Why? The reader places himself in the shoes of the character and experiences his/her reality. The more you read, the more empathy you will develop. Imagination brings understanding.
- Readers have better sleeping patterns, compared to non-readers. It is immensely important to have a bedtime ritual as your brain needs to create distance between the daily hustle and bustle and bedtime.
- Our brains can’t keep functioning 24/7. The brain needs to reload and fiction helps our brains to do that. According to certain studies, reading has more or less the same benefits as meditation. Readers sleep better, stress less, have a better self-image and often tend to battle less with depression (compared to non-readers). According to researchers at the University of Sussex, reading is by far the best way of overcoming stress. This is something I can confirm! Only 6 minutes of reading reduces stress by 60%, relieves muscle tension and changes the state of your mind. Reading is far more effective as therapy than listening to music, drinking a cuppa, taking a walk, or playing a video game.
- Vocabulary: readers of fiction definitely possess a better vocabulary than non-readers — an advantage we all could use in our careers.
- Books tend to improve relationships as they simulate reality. Fiction helps us to understand other people’s way of thinking – critical for building relationships. Especially science fiction helps us to accept change and a changing reality. It builds mental resiliency.
- Readers experience cognitive decline to a lesser extent, compared to non-readers. We all age and at sixteen, eighty seems light years away but age has a tendency of sneaking up on us. There is evidence that reading improves our memory: definitely worthwhile picking up a book!
- Researchers found that readers of fiction have less of a desire for a cognitive conclusion compared to readers of non-fiction. Fiction often confronts the reader with an open ending and uncertainty is acceptable. This stimulates creativity.
- Via stories we experience the reality of the characters as our own. That helps us to show understanding for somebody else’s circumstances. In effect, this means that children who frequently read, should be less inclined to participate in bullying activities. Don’t you think that schools should invest in reading programs?
- Readers tend to be happier. 76% of readers in England indicated that reading brings them joy. Readers are more inclined to be happy and content with their circumstances.
Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
When we read, it stimulates the part of our brains responsible for emotional intelligence (EQ).
I’m sure every parent would want to raise an emotionally intelligent, happy, successful child. Buy your child books or join a library.
How much to read? Just 20 minutes a day can make a massive difference.
Get a book, get a life!
Young adult fiction
There is excellent young adult fiction available in both English and Afrikaans. (Should you want a list of good young adult fiction, please send me an email via the contact page.)
How did you get your teenagers to read?
Sources
https://hbr.org/2020/03/the-case-for-reading-fiction
https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books
10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day
https://buffer.com/resources/reading-fiction/
https://medium.com/the-mission/the-importance-of-reading-fiction-7f57546a229b