You ever open TikTok for 5 minutes and suddenly it’s 3am? Yeah. Same.
Somewhere between the endless cooking hacks, pet videos, and K-drama edits, I realised my brain had officially been hijacked. I couldn’t sit still through a movie, let alone read a book. Even reading Twitter threads felt like homework. My attention span? Gone. Cooked. Burnt to a crisp.
That’s when I decided to fight back—with an e-reader!
Scrolling killed my attention span
Let’s be real: most of us have “TikTok brain.” We’re addicted to quick content—30-second videos, flashy edits, jump cuts, all delivered with a side of dopamine. Our brains get used to that speed. So when we try to slow down and read a book? It feels like trying to run Windows 95 on a brand-new iPhone.
I used to be a bookworm. But suddenly, I couldn’t make it past page 5 without checking WhatsApp, IG, or just zoning out completely. I’d reread the same paragraph three times and still not know what was going on. That’s when I knew something had to change.
E-books re-trained my brain
Enter: e-books. Not the most glamorous fix, but hear me out.
I started small. No pressure to finish a whole novel. Just 5 pages here, 10 pages there—on the train, during lunch, while waiting in line for bubble tea. The best part? My e-reader (a basic Kindle) didn’t have social media. No notifications. Just words.
E-books made the shift easier:
- No need to carry heavy books.
- Adjustable fonts (bless you, small-screen struggle).
- Can switch between genres depending on mood—short stories, poetry, even manga.
It felt like low-stakes reading. And the more I did it, the more I wanted to keep going.
Reading feels better now than it did before
After a few weeks, something weird happened—I stopped craving social media. Not completely lah, I’m not a monk. But I started reaching for my Kindle instead of my phone, especially before bed.
Reading slowed me down in the best way. I slept better. My brain felt calmer. I was actually remembering stuff. And when I did go on TikTok, I noticed how… loud it all felt. Like walking into a club after a peaceful beach day.
One small tip if you wanna try: do the “Read 10 pages before you scroll” challenge. It works. Plus, it makes your screen time guilt feel less tragic.
Conclusion: Save your brain, one page at a time
E-books won’t solve all your problems, but they might help you win back some focus. They helped me chill out, enjoy reading again, and feel like my brain wasn’t constantly screaming for attention.
So here’s the challenge: for one week, swap 30 minutes of social media for 30 minutes of e-reading. Any book, any genre, any format. Just read.
Your FYP will survive. Your brain might not.