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Mind

How listening to audiobooks may be making us more gullible

More and more of us are turning to audiobooks for our reading, but a new study suggests that when we listen to a text rather than read it, we may engage in less deliberative thinking, says David Robson

By David Robson

24 May 2023

Half length portrait of trendy female millennial in electronic spectacles looking at camera during time for listening audio book and walk in metropolitan downtown, generation z in earphones; Shutterstock ID 1722211435; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

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LIKE many people over the past few years, I have found myself transitioning to audiobooks as my main means of devouring literature. After a day of squinting at my laptop, I find it far more comfortable to “read with my ears” while my eyes are resting. My consumption of new books has doubled as a result – but a recent paper makes me wonder if this will come at the price of my comprehension. When we listen to a text, it seems, we may engage in less deliberative thinking and rely more on our gut feelings to appraise its content.

The …

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