The Lost Art of Focused Reading

On this week’s IRL: Online Life is Real Life podcast, Manoush Zomorodi dives into a topic near and dear to our hearts: how our reading habits are evolving in the internet age.

There’s no arguing that we’re awash in more content than ever before. And in many ways, that’s an incredibly exciting moment to experience. We have the whole world at our fingertips, waiting to be consumed and explored.

“There’s never been a time before where there are so many amazing, interesting, stories, ideas, and perspectives out there. And the reality is there is more to consume than we probably have the time for.” – Pocket CEO Nate Weiner, IRL Episode 3

But just how well are we processing and engaging with the wealth of content available to us each day? Life on screens tends to reward shallow, hyperactive reading habits, rather than slow and deep ones. The days of sitting down to read a newspaper or book for an extended period of time are becoming rarer. Instead we spend our days scrolling through feeds, opening dozens of tabs that we never seem to get back to, and skimming from one headline to the next. Many of may feel as though we’re reading in some form all day long, but we’re often devoting less time to focusing, absorbing, and reflecting on what’s in front of us.

As Nate tells Manoush, that’s why we’re so committed to making Pocket the place where you can hold onto the ideas, inspiration, and knowledge that are important to you — and then come back to them later, free from the distractions of the noisy web. We believe that’s what makes Pocket such a welcomed part of our users’ lives — it helps you focus on the things that fascinate you and delivers the satisfaction that deep engagement and focused reading can bring.

“It is so easy to open up Twitter or Facebook or Reddit on my phone, but I never feel good about it after I leave. I never feel fulfilled. But when I actually go, sit down and read something in Pocket, every single time I’m like ‘Man, I need to do that more,’ because you feel like you’ve learned something, or actually used time valuably.” – Pocket CEO Nate Weiner, IRL Episode 3

At Pocket, we want to help you bring back the joy of reading. It’s a place where you save and read the things that are important to you. It’s built by you — for you. Your Pocket is the place where you go to learn and grow, laugh and be inspired, all without distraction. It’s the space for you to capture your favorite content from across the web and come back to it when you’re ready. It’s the feed that helps you feel fulfilled.

Get the new and improved Pocket today on whatever device you have and rediscover the joy of reading.


Mozilla’s IRL Podcast

Join Manoush Zomorodi as she explores how the internet has changed reading — and how we’re all changing alongside it — in Mozilla’s IRL podcast.

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