If the kid is already a good reader, I agree. If not, I’d rather the kid learn to become a reader. The pulp novel is just the gateway drug.
It’s not that reading is intrinsically superior, period. It’s that reading is intrinsically superior at some things, which a person who seldom or never reads will be missing out on. (And there are other things that movies and television are superior at. If you find me some kids who choose never to watch movies or TV, we’ll talk about that.)
As far as I am concerned, the important thing is that reading is a skill that needs to be practiced so that it does not atrophy. Even reading a trashy novel keeps those skills going so that if the person next has to read something important, he is able to do so.
Who was that famous guy that said something like “The man that does not read has no particular advantage over the man that can not read” ?
Look, making kids masturbate over episodes of Frontline is just mean!
I don’t know about that. I can play video games and carry on a totally unrelated conversation. I can’t read a book and carry on a coversation at the same time. Of course that could be just me.
Only because the book is primarily using engaging the verbal portion of your brain. The game is making heavier use of other parts.