Is Reading Still A Choice? Or Is It Becoming A Necessity?

As a bibliotherapist, I often come across readers and clients who say to me that reading is a luxury, or that reading is simply one choice among the many leisurely activities available to us.

We live in a time that constantly pulls us away from reading: speed, distraction, overstimulation. So I would like to begin with a very direct question: is reading still a choice… or is it becoming a necessity? That’s a really interesting question, and it cuts deeper than it looks. The honest answer is: it's always been both, and the tension between them is getting sharper, and why I am leaning more towards one than the other.

Here's why the question is more interesting than it first appears.