Why encouraging young people to read is more important than ever: the benefits of reading for teens

When was the last time you saw a teenager absorbed in a book? Not scrolling, gaming, or watching—but truly immersed in a story, eyes locked on a page, mind in another world?

I see more teenagers than the average person—and even for me, it’s a rare sight. But when it happens, I leech every drop of joy from the moment. It buoys me in my mission to promote Read-Easy material and do my part in sparking a lifelong love of reading. More than ever, I believe reading matters. It's a way for young people to reclaim depth, focus, and a rich inner life in a world that too often offers only shallow distraction.

The Narrow Vortex of Online Life

Today’s young people live in a reality shaped by screens. Their social lives, identities, even their sense of self-worth are filtered through algorithms. And while the internet is a marvel, it's also a trap—one that can pull teens into a vortex of comparison, anxiety, and constant overstimulation.

What’s often lost is the space we all need for reflection, imagination, and quiet. Reading offers that space. A book is patient and unchanging. It waits. It invites the reader into another reality, one that unfolds at their pace—not at the pace of a platform.

Reading and Mental Health

We know that excessive screen time contributes to rising levels of anxiety, depression, and isolation among young people. Reading—especially fiction—can help slow the pulse of life. It fosters empathy, emotional insight, and introspection.

Books provide a safe space to explore emotions, identities, and experiences in a way that social media never can. Even something as simple as reading before sleep—rather than scrolling—can act as a gateway to relaxation, calm brainwaves, and a healthier mental state.

Intellectual Growth and Emotional Depth

Reading builds more than vocabulary. It develops patience, focus, and the ability to sit with complexity. In a world where young people are often pressured to respond instantly—books offer the chance to pause, consider and imagine.

Through stories, teens can explore multiple perspectives, grapple with inner conflicts, and safely experience ways of responding in relationships and to situations. Reading doesn’t give easy answers—it teaches young people how to ask better questions. It positions them to go to the next level of thinking. It elevates and educates. Basically, reading is awesome and undeniably promotes intellectual growth and it's why encouraging young people to read is more important than ever.

What We Can Do

We don’t need to force young people to read “the classics” or shame them for loving graphic novels, audiobooks, or genre fiction. What matters most is helping them fall in love with stories—in any form.

Here’s how we can help:

• Let them see you reading.

• Talk about books the way you’d talk about great films or music.

• Make room for books in your home, your classroom, your conversations.

• Support libraries, bookstores, and authors.

• Celebrate reading as a source of joy, not just self-improvement.

• And (shameless self-promotion), put a Read-Easy book into the hands of a non-reader. Let them feel the confidence that comes from finishing a book—and the dopamine hit of a good story.

  
  

In Closing

I’m not naïve. I know reading isn’t for everyone—and books won’t fix everything. But they do help. They offer something the online world rarely does: a moment of stillness, a new world, and a dose of unfiltered diversity.

If we want young people to thrive—not just survive or perform—we need to give them stories. We need to keep placing books in their hands and reminding them (and ourselves) that reading isn’t old-fashioned.

It’s life-changing.

So, what can you do? Next time you’re looking for a gift for a young person, buy them a book. Choose something that matches their interests and reading level. You might just change their life in the process.