Reading books, aka engaging with long form narrative tends to support the development of attention to complex ideas, depth, nuance and, at least, an exploration of our perceived truth. The same may also apply to some films and TV. Social media, on the other hand, appears to be based on repetitive, instant positive reinforcement. Complex ideas/narratives take more time to digest and are not guaranteed to entertain. So, indeed, we may be amusing ourselves to death.
Reading books, aka engaging with long form narrative tends to support the development of attention to complex ideas, depth, nuance and, at least, an exploration of our perceived truth. The same may also apply to some films and TV. Social media, on the other hand, appears to be based on repetitive, instant positive reinforcement. Complex ideas/narratives take more time to digest and are not guaranteed to entertain. So, indeed, we may be amusing ourselves to death.