As a child in kindergarten, we traced our ABCs and 123’s and read books to gain skills, techniques that are no longer needed thanks to technology.

Everywhere you look, somebody has an iPhone or iPad or some sort of smartphone and tablet, often times both.

They’re deterrents, though. Can’t you see?

Yes, technology helps to make lives easier, but it also makes people become dependent on it.

Back in the day, about the early 1990s, it was a privilege to watch a movie on a VCR.

Now, there are DVD players that are even being supplanted by Blu-ray Disc players and the soon-to-be-released 4K Blu-ray Discs.

But today, all it takes is a “smart device” to view a movie, play a game, and learn a skill, it does it all.

They’re inexpensive as well and condense the clutter, yes?

Remember libraries? Remember when we had to reference actual books for book reports, rather than rely on e-books and a search function that allows for anybody to simply search for a keyword?

It takes away the rest of the content.

There is a reason why authors write books of at least 200 pages or so. It’s not so that you could make your own Cliff Notes and condense a book into the few details you might need to succeed.

I was told back in the day that there is a difference between memorizing something and learning it.

When you memorize something, it’s short term and simply for a test happening in the moment.

However, when you learn it, it’s retained for life.

When you read books, you have to search for whatever you are seeking yourself, and you are more likely to learn information because you’ll find yourself reading the same thing repeatedly.

That’s compared to that famous search function instilled into smart devices that allows you to simply search for a keyword that pertains to your query.

While you find what you’re looking for quicker, you’ll pay for it when studying for an exam.

Not to mention that by reading more, you learn to comprehend material faster.

By reading less and relying on smart devices, it becomes nearly impossible to get material completed, especially in a timely manner.

There’s a reason that they say to keep it simple.

When you put effort into something, you appreciate it more and the output becomes better.

However, when you rush something, you are only incorporating a percentage of your best.

Do yourself a favor and put aside the smart devices and pick up a book once more, it’s healthy for you.