Without Social Media for a Year, a Nigerian can Read 1,200 Books.*
I read a book within three days. Let’s say every three days I make sure I read a book, which possibly contradicts yours anyway. Knowing that within the aforementioned days you’d have been through with at least two or more books. The truth is I am well aware of the fact that the book I complete within three days can be completed in a day or in a few hours without social media. Although I am a slow reader, with social media I become sluggish.
As a writer, there are three things I look for in a book that makes my reading slow: coherence, articulacy and organization of words. I spend more time on a line or a paragraph dissecting its word usage and the suitability of diction. I read the first time to deconstruct, the second time for pleasure.
But these are no excuses in comparison to how I get distracted from books by social media, especially as I am a lover of ebooks. I hardly open a book to read on my phone without the consideration of a brief picnic on either WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter. Many times, I abandon reading for more interesting online gist.
Why am I saying these?
In the last three days, I have been reading one of Chimamanda Adichie’s books and which I completed yesterday — no thanks to social media. I once stumbled upon an article where the writer Charles Chu worked the time spent on social media into reading hours and concluded that a lover of books can effortlessly complete 200 books a year using the math.
He said the number of times an average American spends on social media and on TV yearly which are 608 hours and 1642 hours respectively can be worked into 200 books a year considering a reader reads 200-400 words per minute. Now, let’s take a look at his workings, first in view of an average American reader, then in view of the Nigerian reading projection.
Generally, an average reader reads 200–250 words per minute (wpm)
Typical non-fiction books have 50,000 words.
200 books * 50,000 words = 10 million words
10 million words/400 wpm = 25,000 minutes
25,000 minutes/60 = 417 hours
That is, an American only needs 417 hours a year from the 2250 hours (608+1642) devoted to TV and social media, to read 200 books in a single year.
Average hours spent on social media by a Nigerian = 4 hours
Average hours per year = 1460 hours
Average hours spent on TV = 3 hours
Average hours per year = 1095 hours
Total hours spent per year = 2555 hours
If 2,555 hours researched to be devoted to social media and TV shows by an average Nigerian, is to be divided by 417 hours needed to read 200 books, considering a reader reads 200–250 words per minute, it will be found that an average Nigerian can read 200 books about six (6) times before the year ends, staying completely out of social media. This is a total of 1,200 books in a calendar year, and 66,000 books in the whole 55-year life expectancy of an average Nigerian.
Using this measurement, one can, therefore, conclude that the current digital revolution plays an active role in the downturn of Nigeria’s reading culture with a larger percentage of the country’s literacy population caught in a web of distractions. In a post-truth world of endless information, attaining Chu’s benchmark of 200 books may seem quite impossible but in reality is not a tall order. It, however, requires a certain degree of quality leadership, engaging in reading activities, and intensive self-discipline. Equally, reading facilities and environments like libraries will need to be improved, and the high costs of purchasing quality books should be looked into. These and more will encourage Nigerians to read more books in a single year, rather than surf their quality time away.
Photo credit: Book.Nosed
*Modified, and reedited. First published in Words, Rhymes, and Rhythms.
