With technology advancing quickly, books are becoming a thing of the past. Fewer and fewer people want to take the time to pick up a paperback and read it cover to cover, they’d much rather play on cellphones, watch T.V. and play on the computer. Choosing to do this, however, is harming them more than they know.

Science has proven that reading can help to prevent Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Alzheimer’s doesn’t just affect one part of the brain. It targets the brain as a whole and causes nerve cell deaths and tissue loss. Overtime the brain shrinks, affecting nearly all of its functions. Reading can help strengthen the mind and memory.

Reading can be therapeutic. Sitting down with a good book can help relax one’s body by not putting as much strain and stress on it. It gives the rest of the body’s muscles a chance to recollect and strengthen. Turning page after page and entering a new world helps to leave behind reality. It gives people a chance to catch their breath and look into the mind of another person.

Books share information about other cultures, whether the book is nonfiction or not. Learning how another person thinks and believes helps to change the reader’s perspective on things and can help to enhance their feelings. Reading the same book as someone else gives people the chance to discuss the book and learn what that person thinks as well.

Whether fictional or nonfictional, books help teach grammar. They make students think about unknown words and get the reader to either look up the word, ask about it, or figure it out on their own. Seeing a word helps students remember it later in life.

Although some electronics allow people to download books and stories, it’s not the same as reading from a book. Staring at a screen for too long can damage the eyes. This weakens the ability to see in low light, making eyes dependent upon bright lights.

Schools have become less persistent on getting students to read. Not all English classes require students to read books. English classes are meant to push students to the best of their abilities, yet there are students whose reading levels are at least three grades lower than they should be. Research has shown that children in classrooms that don’t offer books read 50% less than students in classrooms with literature collections.

Humanity is curious. It’s coded into everyone’s DNA. Stories, adventures, fiction, nonfiction any and all stories help soothe the longing for interesting information and answers. Reading provokes people to ask more questions and get more answers. Authors spend months and years creating a story that feeds the minds of their readers.

Increased vocabulary enhances knowledge and intellectual aspects of the mind. In short, reading makes people smarter.

Society is beginning to forget literature and grammar. Everyone has seen it, people on Facebook or Instagram using numbers in place of words and mixing up their homonyms. Sentences such as “Hay their how r u?” are no longer corrected in comments and are becoming socially acceptable, making humanity sound like we are the unintelligent life forms.