--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The questions that our society must ask…" description: "\"The questions that our society must ask revolve around whether the time-consuming demands of the deep-reading processes will be lost in a culture whose..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg" --- # The questions that our society must ask revolve around… ![“The questions that our society must ask revolve around whether the time-consuming demands of the deep-reading processes will be lost in a culture whose principal mediums advantage speed, multitasking, and processing the next and the next piece of information.” quote by Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg) > “The questions that our society must ask revolve around whether the time-consuming demands of the deep-reading processes will be lost in a culture whose principal mediums advantage speed, multitasking, and processing the next and the next piece of information.” [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Deep reading may decline as fast, multitask culture dominates, threatening critical thinking. **In simple terms:** Deep reading is at risk. Key Takeaway Prioritize deep reading habits. Themes reading technology attention culture Mood concerned optimistic Type educational reflective When to use this quote - education - media consumption - learning environments Key Concepts cognitive science media studies Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate deep reading in a fast-paced world? - What habits protect deep comprehension? A Different Perspective Speed reading can improve efficiency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) ## Related quotes > [The integration of the simpler and the deeper reading processes is not automatic and requires years of learning by the novice reader, as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-integration-of-the-simpler-and-the-deeper-reading-processes-is/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The same plasticity that allows us to form a reading circuit to begin with, and short-circuit the development of deep reading if we allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-same-plasticity-that-allows-us-to-form-a-reading-circuit-to-begin/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We have to move into the 21st century, but we should do so with great care to build a 'bi-literate' brain that has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-have-to-move-into-the-21st-century-but-we-should-do-so-with-great/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [My work on what is called 'deep reading' explores the range of linguistic, cognitive, and affective processes that underlie not only the emergence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/my-work-on-what-is-called-deep-reading-explores-the-range-of/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Deep reading refers to a whole continuum of processes that include some of the most important things about thinking and how we connect thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/deep-reading-refers-to-a-whole-continuum-of-processes-that-include/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I want children to learn to develop deep reading skills in the beginning in print. I believe the physicality of print is much better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-want-children-to-learn-to-develop-deep-reading-skills-in-the/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Young children seem to be learning who to share this toy with and figure out how it works, while adolescents seem to be exploring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/young-children-seem-to-be-learning-who-to-share-this-toy-with-and/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [Artists try to ask questions, and within our society, unless there are artists, those questions don't get asked. And everybody blames the market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-weiner/artists-try-to-ask-questions-and-within-our-society-unless-there-are/) [Lawrence Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-weiner/) > [Art can no longer be art today if it does not reach into the heart of our present culture and work transformatively within it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-beuys/art-can-no-longer-be-art-today-if-it-does-not-reach-into-the-heart-of/) [Joseph Beuys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-beuys/) > [We can choose this moment of crisis to ask and answer the big questions of society's evolution — like, what do we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilding/we-can-choose-this-moment-of-crisis-to-ask-and-answer-the-big/) [Paul Gilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilding/) > [The 70s were a wonderful time to be young. I think most young people at that time were pushing the boundaries, asking all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/the-70s-were-a-wonderful-time-to-be-young-i-think-most-young-people/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [You are a Christian only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society you live in, so long as you stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/you-are-a-christian-only-so-long-as-you-constantly-pose-critical/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [We have moved into an era where we are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society. We are still called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-have-moved-into-an-era-where-we-are-called-upon-to-raise-certain/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [If anything, the genuine human struggles in 'Sicko' raise questions about our society that run much deeper than what passes for political discourse today.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-melber/if-anything-the-genuine-human-struggles-in-sicko-raise-questions/) [Ari Melber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-melber/) > [Reading, because we control it, is adaptable to our needs and rhythms. We are free to indulge our subjective associative impulse; the term I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-birkerts/reading-because-we-control-it-is-adaptable-to-our-needs-and-rhythms/) [Sven Birkerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-birkerts/) ## More by Maryanne Wolf > [There's a richness that reading gives you, an opportunity to probe more than any other medium I know of. Reading is about not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-s-a-richness-that-reading-gives-you-an-opportunity-to-probe/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The act of learning to read added an entirely new circuit to our hominid brain's repertoire. The long developmental process of learning to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-act-of-learning-to-read-added-an-entirely-new-circuit-to-our/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Skimming has led, I believe, to a tendency to go to the sources that seem the simplest, most reduced, most familiar, and least cognitively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/skimming-has-led-i-believe-to-a-tendency-to-go-to-the-sources-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The brain is constantly adapting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-brain-is-constantly-adapting/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We humans invented literacy, which means it doesn't come for free with our genes like speech and vision. Every brain has to learn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-humans-invented-literacy-which-means-it-doesn-t-come-for-free-with/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The same plasticity that allows us to form a reading circuit to begin with, and short-circuit the development of deep reading if we allow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-same-plasticity-that-allows-us-to-form-a-reading-circuit-to-begin/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [If you word-spot James Joyce, you'll miss the entire experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/if-you-word-spot-james-joyce-you-ll-miss-the-entire-experience/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“There are few more powerful mirrors of the human brain's astonishing ability to rearrange itself to learn a new intellectual function than the act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-are-few-more-powerful-mirrors-of-the-human-brain-s-astonishing/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We have to move into the 21st century, but we should do so with great care to build a 'bi-literate' brain that has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-have-to-move-into-the-21st-century-but-we-should-do-so-with-great/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [The brain is plastic its whole life span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-brain-is-plastic-its-whole-life-span/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I am an apologist for the reading brain. It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [We human beings were never born to read; we invented reading and then had to teach it to every new generation. Each new reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/we-human-beings-were-never-born-to-read-we-invented-reading-and-then/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [When we have any function, whether it's language or vision or cognitive functions like memory, we aren't dealing with a straight line to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/when-we-have-any-function-whether-it-s-language-or-vision-or/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Every opportunity to practice is a gift to the developing reader. Practice, practice, practice, in every form and medium!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/every-opportunity-to-practice-is-a-gift-to-the-developing-reader/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Each young reader has to fashion an entirely new 'reading circuit' afresh every time. There is no one neat circuit just waiting to unfold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/each-young-reader-has-to-fashion-an-entirely-new-reading-circuit/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) [Explore all 63 Maryanne Wolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The questions that our society must ask revolve around whether the time-consuming demands of the deep-reading processes will be lost in a culture whose principal mediums advantage speed, multitasking, and processing the next and the next piece of information.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maryanne Wolf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask-revolve-around-whether-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask-revolve-around-whether-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/maryanne-wolf-10802_change_the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask_512603.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The questions that our society must ask revolve around whether the time-consuming demands of the…” — Maryanne Wolf", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maryanne Wolf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The questions that our society must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask-revolve-around-whether-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-questions-that-our-society-must-ask-revolve-around-whether-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```