Hot take: The audiobook vs print debate got flipped on me by a 14 year old

I was sitting in my local library waiting for a late hold to come in and this kid next to me was blasting an audiobook on his phone. I kinda rolled my eyes thinking he was missing out on the real reading experience. He caught me looking and asked if I thought audiobooks were cheating. I said yeah kind of and he fired back that I was just gatekeeping stories. He said reading is reading no matter how you take it in and that his dyslexia makes print impossible sometimes. That whole conversation hit different because I never thought about accessibility before. Ive been a print snob my whole life but now I wonder if I'm the one missing the point. Has anyone else had their mind changed by a younger reader on this?

3 comments

3 Comments

dixon.iris3d ago

Man that kid's got a point, I've seen plenty of folks at my gym get through books on audio while working out and it still counts as reading.

carter.casey3d ago

Yeah that's a really good point. Some people just absorb info better through their ears, and that doesn't make it any less valid as reading. Plus it's actually pretty smart to multitask like that instead of just scrolling on your phone.

faith_thomas3d ago

Real curious about the "it still counts as reading" part. Does it really though, or does hitting play on a recording just make you a listener who happened to pick a book? The multitasking angle is interesting, but at some point aren't you just splitting your focus and not really absorbing either thing?