Is Blogging Becoming a Lost Art?
There was a time when reading was the internet.
Before algorithms decided what we should see, before endless video feeds scrolled past our eyes, the web was built on words. Forums, blogs, essays, personal journals, long comment threads. People sat down and read. Slowly. Thoughtfully. Sometimes even twice.
Today, it feels different.
Open almost any social platform, and you will notice something immediately. Videos dominate. Short clips, reels, streams, autoplay content. Even news articles now compete with video summaries because many people would rather watch than read.
So the question naturally appears for anyone who still enjoys writing.
Do people even read anymore?
And if they don’t, is blogging a waste of time?
I’ve thought about this a lot.
The World Didn’t Stop Reading, It Changed How It Consumes!
The first thing worth understanding is this: people still consume information constantly. In fact, probably more than ever in human history.
The difference is how they consume it.
Video is faster to absorb emotionally. A 10 minute YouTube video can explain something that might take 15 minutes to read. A 30 second reel can provide a quick burst of entertainment without requiring attention or imagination.
Reading, on the other hand, demands something many people feel they lack today:
focus.
Reading requires you to slow down.
To imagine.
To process.
And in a world full of notifications, distractions, and endless content, slowing down has become rare.
Too Much Content, Too Little Time
Another major reason people read less is simply content overload.
Think about it. Every day we are flooded with:
- YouTube videos
- TikTok clips
- Podcasts
- Streaming shows
- Social media posts
- News updates
- Emails
- Messages
There is only so much time in a day. When people feel overwhelmed, they gravitate toward the easiest format to consume.
Video requires less effort.
Reading requires intention.
So when someone says “people don’t read anymore,” it’s not completely true. It’s more accurate to say: People choose the fastest format when attention is scarce.
Is Reading Becoming Boring?
Not really.
But the internet has trained our brains to expect constant stimulation.
Fast cuts.
Music.
Visual effects.
Humor every few seconds.
Reading is quiet. Words on a page. No sound, no movement. That silence can feel slow to someone used to rapid digital entertainment.
But here’s the strange paradox.
Many of the most successful ideas, movements, and communities on the internet still start with writing.
Books still change lives.
Long essays still go viral.
Thoughtful blogs still find loyal readers.
They just spread differently now.
So, Is Blogging a Waste of Time?
Personally, I don’t think so.
Blogging today may not generate millions of casual readers as it did in the early 2000s, but it does something else that video rarely achieves:
It leaves a permanent footprint of thought.
A blog is closer to a digital journal than a broadcast.
It captures a moment in time, a perspective, a reflection.
Years later, someone might stumble across it and feel understood in a way a short video never could.
Videos are often consumed and forgotten.
Words tend to linger.
Writing Is Also a Conversation With the Future
When you write, you’re not just communicating with people today.
You’re communicating with people who might find your thoughts years later.
Think about how many times you’ve searched for something online and discovered an old forum post or blog article from 10 years ago that perfectly answered your question.
Those writers probably never imagined their words would still matter.
But they did.
Writing has that strange power.
I Co-Host a Podcast too…
Interestingly, I’m not disconnected from this shift toward audio and video. I co-host a podcast myself. In many ways, podcasts represent the same change in how people consume information today. People can listen while driving, working, exercising, or doing chores. It fits naturally into busy lives in a way that reading sometimes doesn’t.
But even with that, I still find myself returning to writing.
There’s something about writing that feels different from speaking. When you write, your thoughts slow down. You choose words more carefully. Ideas take shape in a quieter, more deliberate way. A podcast conversation may come and go in an hour, but writing leaves a trail of thought that can stay on the internet for years.
Why I Still Write
So even though I talk, record, and share ideas through a podcast, I still write and blog. Not because it’s the most popular format today, but because writing feels like placing a small marker in time, a record of what you were thinking at that moment. For me, writing isn’t only about whether thousands of people read it.
It’s closer to keeping a public diary of ideas.
A place where thoughts can live outside my head.
Maybe a few people read it.
Maybe many people read it later.
Maybe almost no one reads it at all.
But every post becomes a marker in time.
A small signal that says:
“This is what someone was thinking in this moment.”
And sometimes that’s enough.
The Internet Still Needs Writers
Even in the age of video, the internet still quietly depends on writing, even when it’s assisted with A.I.
Search engines rely on it.
Ideas are shaped through it.
Communities form around it.
And most importantly, writing allows depth that quick content often cannot.
So no, blogging isn’t pointless.
It has simply become something different.
Not mass entertainment.
But thought is preserved in digital form.
And somewhere, someday, someone might read it and think:
“I’m glad someone wrote this.”
