I was never one of those "active readers" as some people may call it, I would barely EVER underline or takes notes of something that I thought in a story/article was important except during exams, but I did like to read. Ever since I can remember I have always preferred to carry books and print outs with me to read, whether if it was for school or a book I was reading on the side. Why? Well, it's because the way I learned how to read and understand what I read. But I, later on, learned to enjoy reading articles posted onto social media websites, and realizing how much social media can have on me. 

Since I can remember I have always needed something physical, it was to keep me distracted and occupied by simply holding the book, but when I read things online compared to reading them offline, there was a difference. When reading a post online like an article that my friend posts all the time about politics, I would find myself not remembering much of what I just read, and would have to read it again with the intent of not losing any bit of focus to fully comprehend what I read, also I would take longer than usual trying to get comfortable if sitting at my desk or laying down. But if someone handed that same article to me but a physical version itself it would only have to read it once and it would take half the time as well. Maybe part of the fault lies with the social media, I easily get distracted while looking through my feed. I would read articles that my family members would post about the news about what is going on in my home country,bombings, house raids, people being killed which led me to read more articles online about the news that’s going on in my country through news web pages like  “Aljazeera”. 

            Social media became one of the only ways for me to keep in touch with news and important events happening in my home country and the world around me. Through reading many articles I learned to read just as well online as I would read offline that off feeling I would have, not having a physical copy disappeared, I could now read without getting too distracted by notifications or private messages on Facebook and Instagram or seeing that someone commented on my post and replying to them. Reading through social media opened many ways of obtaining information I would otherwise miss. Also because social media can be updated and is updated all the time that it's easier to keep up to date with the news, for example, I saw a portion of a particle called “How Palestinian students prepare for settler attacks” (from Al-Jazeera news web page)in which I kept up to date with but I probably wouldn't  have found this article without seeing it on my relatives feed on social  media. 

                 The impact that social media has had on me in terms of reading is tremendous I would say because it led me to a better platform for reading a variety of things as well as keeping me updated even tho I was doubtful at first but it later grew on me and I realized that helped me read articles from where ever I am work, school, etc and that I would be able to be informed right away rather than waiting around for a paper print to come strolling around. 

Works Cited 

‘How Palestinian students prepare for settler attacks” by- Jaclynn Ashly 

Al-Jazeera web page- www.AlJazeera.com