Lucknowites embrace book reading to escape doomscrolling

In the age of doomscrolling—when people find themselves lost in a rabbit hole of endless content online—Lucknowites have traded their touchscreens for the timeless pleasure of flipping through book pages at the Lucknow Book Fair, being held at the Ravindralaya grounds these days.
The fair, which will continue till March 9, features 80 stalls from 35 publishers, offering an eclectic range of books from various genres. We asked around city folk on how reading provides an escape from excessive screen time...

‘Reading is the ultimate solution to doom scrolling’
“Doomscrolling on my phone sometimes disturbs me—it feels like an information dump,” says Daksh Mehrotra, a biotechnology student, adding, “One moment I see a cute dog, and the next, news about a crisis. Meanwhile, reading a book allows me to become fully immersed in the story; it’s calming and decidedly not overstimulating. Pratishtha, an avid reader agrees and adds, “Whenever I find myself overusing my phone, I know it’s time to put it aside and start reading. I don’t even notice how quickly the hours pass by,” she says.
I choose my books wisely after doing research, whereas when I’m on my phone, the content is randomised, so yes, I feel when we are scrolling on the phone we are not in control, we form our opinion based on what we are shown under just 30 seconds. But a book is focussed on one topic, which gives clarity of thought
– Pranav, a media student

‘Social media ruins the experience of reading’
Bhavini, a medical student, notes, “Social media skews the narratives of books, overanalyzes and overhypes them, sometimes even spoiling the reading experience.” While another attendee adds, “Bookstagram and BookTok have created a space for book lovers to connect, but they’ve also reduced books to just ‘tropes.’ Now, readers don’t always seek a good story or deep character development—they just want their favourite trope.”
-Manas Mishra