Why You Read More As A Child (And How to Read More Now)
From the ages of 7 to about 15, I read a TON of books, a habit my parents heavily encouraged (now I own ~200 books, but that's a discussion for a different day). Around 12 in a when that started to change. With a smartphone, I could read online (which I did also, it's how I got into fanfiction and Wattpad) but I got sucked into the world of social media a lot and I didn't read as much.
As an adult, I sort of missed those days because of how much peace I felt, and I actually quite think to read. Nowadays, I'm always on my phone or on the internet if not working, and I would like to get back to that in some way. So though I would help some others experiencing the same thing.
Why You Read More Books As A Child
You were likely dealing with a combination of below
Less internet access + less distractions
More time because of lower workload
Less stress (bigger than you'd think)
Different types of books (I read alot of children's books and ya)
Less influence from BookTok / BookTube / the Internet at large (A whole different post)
All these things (or more) made it easier for you to read books and not feel bad about how you read / how much you read.
Now of these things are manageable, and others are not. You cannot so back in time and there will always be something to stress you out. Also, the way to getting back to reading more will look different for everyone, so goals will vary. If your goal is getting in 100 books in a year, your goal will look different to someone who wants to treat reading like a consistent hobby but i think all the tips will be somewhat useful.
Make reading easier for you to do, and make distractions harder for you to do. This can be done in a multitude of ways. For your reading may be easier / more accessible by using audiobooks / e-books to read, or choosing smaller books. The biggest distractions are the ones that should be targeted most - I limit my use of social media and even put my phone on gray scale in extreme measures. This can actually equalize your interest in books with your interest on the internet because now both the book and the internet are in black and white. Or you can go even harder and get a brick phone, but that might not be feasible for everyone.
Find interesting books to read book online or offline (I'll go on about this more in a different post). Read different types of books from different genres, authors and sizes. Read novels. Novellas. Short stories. Essays. Children's books. Adult books. Classics. Booker prize winners. The possibilities are truly endless with reading, and you don't have to read the newest fad that BookTok / BookTube. :)
Give yourself some grace. You may have felt like, as a child, you had all the time in the world to read copious amounts of books. Now that you're older, you may be struggling with family, finding work, illness (physical + mental) or just life. Not only that, but you may have just fallen out of love with reading for a while and lost track of time. All of that is valid. Just because you didn't read today, doesn't stop you from being a reader, and just because you didn't read today, it doesn't stop you from reading tomorrow or the day after that (You managed to read this post so far, a few more words won't hurt :3.)
Track your reading progress and reward yourself. Track in whatever format is easiest for you (pages, segments (chapters, stories, essays) books, hours) and do it as often as you like (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly). Rewards can be as simple as a gold star or buying a new book (though be aware of overconsumption). Try to get a reward related to the goal, like a bookmark or a sticker for your Kindle.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. PLEASE. You don't have to buy every book brand new. Burrow books from your library. Read in your library. Join / Start a books club in your library. Get to know your librarians, I find they are quite nice.
Hopefully these tips helps a poor soul in need. Happy reading everyone!