It used to be that reading books made you an intellectual. In the age of TikTok and shorts being able to watch a movie for 2 hours makes you an intellectual.
I’d posit that we just puritanically glorify anything perceived as difficult, regardless of the correlation with “intellect.” I’m fine not having the same attention span as people who had to less stuff to do hundreds of years ago.
Have you seen how they watch movies in China? Collectively, with hundreds of real-time comments flying over the screen.
Reading might not make you intellectual, but if you read because you thought it made you intellectual, it definitely made you insufferable.
What if I watch a movie in 56 two minute clips while someone extrudes playdoh in the corner?