Pages vs. Pictures: Why Are More Young People Choosing the Screen Over the Page?
Last semester, I had the chance to interview people from different backgrounds for my CA 2 vlogging assignment. I asked them a simple question: Do you prefer books or movies?
To my surprise, most of them chose movies. I expected at least a few more people to side with books, but apart from Megha and Libi, almost everyone leaned toward films. Even Pearlina’s friends had the same response.
This made me stop and think. If I had asked this question ten years ago, the answer might have been different. Books were once the go-to escape, the doorway to new worlds, and the source of so many childhood dreams. But today, movies have taken that place for a lot of people. As someone who loves both, I couldn’t help but wonder: What is it about movies that books can’t quite offer?
Why Are Movies Winning Over Books?
Super Fast Express
We live in a world where everything happens fast. People want things instantly fast deliveries, quick replies, and short videos. Books demand time, patience, and imagination. But a movie? In just two hours, you’ve experienced an entire story. It fits into busy schedules, making it the easier choice for many.
Recently, I have noticed that the time duration of most songs are shortened to 2 or 3 minutes, when it was around 5 to 6 minutes previously.
For Example :
Katseye is a pop group who debuted recently. Most of their songs are just two minutes which is too short for a album music release but I have realised, that is what the public expects - short songs and short videos over long ones.
The current generation is not found patient enough to listen to songs like Bohemian Rapsody which is around 6 minutes long. I agree, I am part of this generation, where I get distracted every 5 minutes of a video. This is why the time span of everything revolving around both entertainment and education are becoming shorter by the day. We are not patient enough to watch a 50 second video. Would we spend time reading a book of 500 pages over a 2 hour movie? The answer is what we see in the youth today.
Another example, a novel like Pride and Prejudice may take weeks to read, but its 2005 movie adaptation condenses the entire plot into just over two hours. For a generation accustomed to quick content consumption (short-form videos, reels, and tweets), movies provide instant gratification.
What We See is What We Feel
Books have the power to transport you to different worlds, but movies bring those worlds to life. The emotions on an actor’s face, the sweeping background score, the way light and shadows play across a scene, movies create a direct emotional connection that books often require effort to build.
For instance, the tragic love story of Titanic is heart-wrenching in book form, but in the movie, the visual spectacle of the sinking ship, Leonardo DiCaprio’s expressive performance, and James Horner’s haunting music make it an emotional rollercoaster. Music is another reason why movies are often preferred over books.
A Shared Experience
Reading is mostly a solo activity. You sit with a book, lost in your own imagination. Movies, on the other hand, are social. Watching a film with friends, discussing your favorite scenes, reacting to plot twists together, it’s an experience that books don’t always provide.
For example : Reading a romantic comedy is a beautiful experience but watching it in a theatre filled with people cheering on every scene is another experience that evokes deep sense of satisfaction.
Accessibility and Convenience
Buying a book, carrying it around, and taking time to finish it requires effort. But movies? They’re just a click away. With streaming platforms like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, you can access thousands of films anytime, anywhere. The convenience makes them a more tempting option.
The Power of Visual Storytelling
For a generation raised on digital media, the way stories are told matters. Books require you to imagine everything, but movies hand it to you fully formed. The colors, the music, the acting, all of it creates an immersive experience that feels effortless to intake.
How Are Movies Influencing Young Minds?
Movies aren’t just about entertainment. They shape perspectives, inspire dreams, and sometimes even change lives.
Inspiration & Career Goals
A lot of people have been inspired by movie characters. Whether it’s someone wanting to become a lawyer after watching Legally Blonde or a chef after watching Ratatouille, films influence career choices and other actions in both good and bad ways.
For example:
Drishyam (2013) – Inspired a man in Tamil Nadu to cover up a crime using tactics from the movie.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) – Encouraged people to travel and prioritize mental health.
Spreading Awareness
Films like "Jana Gana Mana" make young people more aware of social issues, pushing them to think beyond their immediate surroundings.
Shorter Attention Spans
On the flip side, constantly consuming fast-paced visual content has made it harder for many to focus on long-form storytelling like books.
Do Books Still Have a Place?
Absolutely. While movies offer a quick and immersive experience, books hold a depth and intimacy that no film can fully replicate. As a literature student, I’ve come to appreciate the unique power of books, the way they engage the mind, nurture creativity, and offer perspectives that movies sometimes omit.
The Power of Imagination
When you read, you’re not just absorbing a story, you’re building it in your mind. Unlike movies, which present a director’s vision, books allow you to create your own interpretations, making the experience deeply personal. When you read, the story is under your control, you understand and interpret in your own way with absolute freedom which movies can not offer.
The Beauty of Language
Books don’t just tell stories; they play with words, emotions, and ideas in ways movies can’t always capture. A well-written novel can turn a simple moment into a masterpiece of prose, something that is often lost in film adaptations.
For Example:
In a movie, a girl is shown to be eating breakfast and rushing up to college. It is shown within a minute without any description. The same scene in a book is written differently, Vivid Description of her dress, the food she is gobbling up, her background, reason behind her rushed up morning and how she feels at that moment are all mentioned, which lets you understand the character's situation better.
A Deeper Connection to Characters
Movies are limited by time; they have to condense character development into a few hours. Books, however, give you time to truly know a character.
For example:
Harry Potter books offer deep character insights that the movies, despite their brilliance, couldn’t fully explore.
Pride and Prejudice allows readers to understand Elizabeth Bennet’s thoughts in a way that even the best film adaptations can’t replicate.
The Joy of Slow Storytelling
Books allow stories to unfold at their own pace. You can pause, reread a passage, and truly soak in the emotions. Unlike movies, where everything moves quickly, books encourage patience, reflection, and a deeper emotional connection to the story.
Mental Workout
Reading strengthens cognitive skills, improves vocabulary, and sharpens critical thinking. It challenges your mind in ways movies rarely do, making you an active participant.
Finding Balance: Why Both Matter
As much as I love books, I won’t deny that movies have their own magic. But rather than seeing it as books vs. movies, maybe we should see them as different but equally valuable forms of storytelling.
Movies give us a shared experience, a quick escape, and a visually stunning way to connect with stories. Books, on the other hand, offer depth, imagination, and a quiet, personal journey into worlds unknown.
Perhaps the key is balance, appreciating the instant immersion of movies while still making time for the slow, beautiful art of reading. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about how we experience stories, but the impact they leave on us.
So, It's not "movies vs books" but "movies and books".
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