this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2026
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[–] quips@slrpnk.net 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Bro how are audiobooks not reading? Worst take of the bunch, and frankly pretty ableist.

Studies have consistently shown equal comprehension from whether something is read or spoken to you. So firstly you’re literally consuming and understanding the exact same story in your head.

Audiobooks are also far more accessible, you can listen to one and drive, clean, cook, brush your teeth, etc…

And like for many people, audiobooks are THE best way they could possibly consume books. Say they have dyslexia, visual impairments, adhd, etc… that all make reading take much more mental energy. That all disappears in audio format.

And like there’s so much you can add with stuff like graphic audio, you can have a whole cast, music, sound effects, things you simply can’t do just via the written word.

And lets not forget the tradition of human storytelling began from passing on stories purely my mouth. People told a story and remembered it and spoke it again. People are naturally built to take in stories audibly, and its no wonder many people find this method (of telling the exact same friggen story!!!) more natural. Also like we’re these oral stories somehow less legitimate until they were written down?

According to this page, that is just not true.

When you read, your brain is working hard behind the scenes. It recognizes the shapes of letters, matches them to speech sounds, connects those sounds to meaning, then links those meanings across words, sentences and even whole books. The text uses visual structure such as punctuation marks, paragraph breaks or bolded words to guide understanding. You can go at your own speed.

Listening, on the other hand, requires your brain to work at the pace of the speaker. Because spoken language is fleeting, listeners must rely on cognitive processes, including memory to hold onto what they just heard.

I don't think one is better than the other, but they are fucking different. I listen to audiobooks and I read books. And I do a lot of both.

[–] Vupware@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The statement “audiobooks aren’t reading” is an oversimplification. It would be better to say that audiobooks can be less beneficial to certain people.

I say this from personal experience - when I listen to an audiobook, I am not devoting my entire essence to the task, there is still room for other activity. I don’t like that. I think there is much to be gained through the solitary and mentally taxing reading that print necessitates.

But yes, many people prefer audiobooks. That’s okay. I still think people should challenge themselves, however, in both the books they read and how they read them, in order to broaden the scope of their understanding. The potential for personal growth is astronomical; who knows what one misses when they aren’t 100% committed to the information?

I think it's as simple as you read, or you listen. They are different processes. They aren't better or worse than each other, just different.