Note: This post was written by a student at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in 2025.
Reading Fiction: Truly Useful or Just for Fun?
When you ask people what they like to do, it is likely that many will reply that they enjoy cozying up with a good book, preferably on a rainy day. Few can deny that reading fiction is a good source of entertainment, but many believe that entertainment is where the benefits of reading fiction end. Others acknowledge that reading fiction provides academic advantages, but they believe that reading fiction is essentially useless when it comes to life skills. This posits the question: does reading provide a constructive use of time, or is reading a waste of it? I believe that reading fiction is a productive way to spend time in addition to entertaining oneself.
One of the many benefits that reading fiction entails is that it helps develop the reader’s empathy. A study published in the International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy that included 208 total subjects, found that “reading fiction engages and promotes Theory of Mind processing, leading to better performance in cognitive empathy tasks” (Tabulo et al., 2018, p. 10) and interprets that people who read fiction internalize the emotions that the characters feel in order to replicate and understand the characters’ emotions and motivations (Tabulo et al., 2018). This simulation of the characters’ feelings is essentially practicing empathy, even if the characters that they are empathizing with are not real people. Now, you may be wondering what Theory of Mind (ToM,) is, since it is mentioned in the article. Essentially, Theory of Mind is the ability for one to be able to determine another’s mental state. This trait is often associated with empathy, as one is required to be able to accurately determine another’s mental state before they can empathize with the other. According to the article “The Effect of Reading Literary Fiction on the Theory of Mind Skills Among Persons with Schizophrenia and Normal Controls”, another study was performed on both schizophrenic and healthy individuals, who were both given short fictional stories to read and then questioned to see if their ToM skills had improved. The study found that in both healthy and schizophrenic individuals, reading fiction produced a positive effect on their ToM (Fekete et al., 2023). This is significant because it shows that reading fiction does not just improve normal individuals’ empathy, but it could also help individuals suffering from mental health issues to be able to better empathize with others. Consequently, reading fiction is productive because it advances empathy skills, which are much needed.
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, when one reads fiction, they simulate the characters’ emotions. However, this simulation is not limited to only the characters and their emotions. According to “Fact vs Fiction- How Paratextual Information Shapes Our Reading Processes”, while readers formed mental simulations while reading both fiction and nonfiction, reading fiction promoted constructing an imaginative mental image much more than nonfiction (Altmann et al., 2014). This suggests that reading fiction helps with mental imagery in general, which is known to be very beneficial in numerous aspects, including education, mental health, general creativity and problem-solving. Because reading fiction improves the creation of mental images, it is very constructive.
There are many people who believe that reading fiction is not a productive consumption of one’s time. One of the main arguments used to prove their view is that while reading may be entertaining and improve academic performance, it does not provide practical skills that are used in normal day-to-day life. This argument is a misconception; reading fiction provides many useful skills that can be used in normal, non-academic settings. Empathy is a tool that continues to remain essential in today’s world, which many people lack, and is improved upon by reading fiction. In addition, creating mental imagery improves problem-solving skills, which are also used in daily life; however, aside from the previous benefits mentioned, reading fiction improves the practical skill of communication, which everyone practices daily. According to the article, “A Medical Approach to the Benefits of Reading Fiction Among Health Professionals”, a study was performed where ninety- two medical professionals and students were surveyed by different means. More than half of the participants said they were “aware that through exposure to fictional narratives and different characters, they expand their empathy and refine their communication strategies, as well as developing a better attitude towards patients” (Balhura et al., 2024, p.123). This demonstrates that doctors and medical students believed they were able to communicate better because they were able to make connections with fictional characters while reading, which gave them the perception that they improved how they interacted and made connections with their patients. Seeing as how physicians interact with patients on a daily basis and need to be able to converse with their patients effectively to ensure that patients follow the doctor’s instructions, this improvement derived from reading fiction is indeed significant and practical. Therefore, reading fiction does provide everyday skills and is a constructive use of time.
The final reason why reading fiction is productive is that it improves cognitive function; specifically, reading fiction improves social cognition. Social cognition refers to how people handle information regarding other people and different social situations. Psychology doctors David Dodell-Feder (2018) and Diana Tamir (2018) discuss in “Fiction Reading Has a Small Positive Impact on Social Cognition: A Meta-Analysis” that a total of 14 studies performed found that fiction readers outperformed non-fiction reader and non-readers when it came to social-cognitive function. This suggests that people who read fiction can better handle and process different social skills and situations than people who do not read fiction, which demonstrates that reading fiction is beneficial and a constructive use of time.
Reading fiction entails numerous benefits, a few of which are discussed here. Reading fiction is a constructive way to spend one’s time, in addition to being entertaining. Although many people do not realize it, fiction readers are provided with numerous advantages that expand their academic and applied skills. So, the next time you cozy up with your favorite novel, remember that you’re not only tapping into an amazing plot, but also a wide store of benefits to improve your skills.
References
Altmann U., Bohrn I. C., Lubrich, O., Menninghaus W., Jacobs A. M., (2014). Fact vs fiction- how paratextual information shapes our reading processes. Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience 9 (1), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nss098
Balahura D., Cojocaru, D. V., Pasça, M. D., (2024). A medical approach to the benefits of reading finction among health professionals. Acta Marisienis. Seria Medica 70, 123 https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.franu.edu/c/zhf7vq/viewer/pdf/rrc42p7gfb
Dodell-Feder, D., & Tamir, D. I. (2018). Fiction reading has a small positive impact on social cognition: A meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147 (11), 1713–1727. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000395
Fekete J., Pótó Z., Varga E., Hebling D., Herold M., Albert N., Petho B. Tényi T., Herold R., (2023). The effect of reading literary fiction on the theory of mind skills among persons with schizophrenia and normal controls. Frontiers in psychiatry 14, 1197677. https://doi-org.ezproxy.franu.edu/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1197677
Tabullo A. J., Navas J., Violeta A., Garcia C. S., (2018) Associations between fiction reading, trait empathy and theory of mind ability. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 18(3), 357–370. https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.franu.edu/c/zhf7vq/viewer/pdf/jcoqoaaqij
