[garciasn]

I read for pleasure; ~100 books a year on average. When I go anywhere, I am reading.

My daughter informed me that the mothers of her teammates were outright making fun of me for having my 'nose buried in a book,' before every event. I asked her if they were making fun of everyone else for having their nose buried in their phones; she laughed and said they probably were not.

Why is reading for fun something that's worthy of negative attention these days but scrolling social feeds is somehow socially acceptable? I just don't get it.

Of course kids aren't reading for pleasure; their parents likely aren't and there's societal pressure to NOT do it and instead use your phone to pass the time.

[TFNA]

> these days

Bill Hicks, the standup comedian dead for over three decades already, had a now-classic bit about being challenged for reading by a waitress. Reading has always been uncool to some people.

[eru]

Funnily enough, smart phones (and previous feature phones with their SMS) have probably gotten more people into reading and writing for leisure than any other technology since the printing press.

Granted, people are not doing any long form reading and writing on these devices, but they are reading and writing.

[raddan]

For what it’s worth I think people have always been this way. I used to read during recess when I was in middle school. I usually could not wait to get back to my books. But the other kids saw this as profoundly antisocial. I wasn’t being antisocial exactly; I was pretty shy and had a very active imagination. Amusingly, the school bullies misinterpreted my bookishness as weakness. That changed when I (accidentally) knocked out a kid’s front teeth during a fight. I felt terrible about it but the bullying stopped immediately.

This undercurrent of anti-intellectualism has been around for a long time. I would just ignore the naysayers.

[chickensong]

Herd mentality, anti-intellectual culture, poor reading skills, and ADHD are widespread issues. Those mothers sound lame, and ultimately the joke's on them. Reading is awesome, and making fun of someone for it just shows what basic bitches they are.

[encrypted_bird]

Hey, come on... I have ADHD and love reading. No need to use that as a bludgeon. It's unnecessary...

[m-hodges]

I think this is how Beauty And The Beast opens.

[ojbyrne]

I’m 65. I’m pretty sure I heard plenty of snide “nose buried in a book” cracks when i was growing up.

[slibhb]

It's not that there's social pressure specifically against reading. Just that there's social pressure to conform, and most people aren't reading.