Hi Reader,

My sister and I went to a fancy spa in Palo Alto last weekend. So relaxing I literally fell asleep during my pedicure. In the lounge, I noticed something: nearly everyone around us was reading. And every single one of them was reading on paper. No Kindles, no iPads.

There's an open secret in Silicon Valley: the people building the tech often don't use it themselves — or let their kids use it.

It stuck with me. Because the research backs it up.

​Studies consistently show that kids (and adults) understand and retain more when reading on paper versus screens. Children's brains engage more deeply with print, and kids who read more books show stronger neural connections in language and cognitive control. What gets lost on screens is what researchers call deep reading, or the slower, richer work of inference, reflection, and real comprehension. Screens, almost by design, train us to skim.

And this applies to us too. The same effect shows up in adults: we retain less, skim more, and walk away with only the gist. I'll be honest: I read on my Kindle every night. It's light, I have multiple books going at once, and I don't wake up my husband. I'm not giving it up. But knowing what I know now, I'm more intentional about reaching for print when the material actually matters.

That said, a kid who reads on a screen but won't pick up a book is still reading. That matters. The research just suggests we keep print in the picture too, especially while kids are still building their early reading habits.

A conversation to try this week:

Ages 6–10:"Does reading a book feel different from reading on a tablet? Which do you like better?" Just listen. You're planting the seed that how we read is worth noticing.

Ages 11–13:"Scientists studied whether your brain reads differently on paper versus a screen. What do you think they found?" Let them guess first — then share the gist.

Ages 14+: Lead with your own honesty: "I read on Kindle because it's convenient, but I found out screens might make it harder to really absorb what I'm reading. I'm a little conflicted. Do you ever think about that?" Teens engage when you start with your own ambivalence instead of a lesson.

Your turn: paper or screen? Hit reply and tell me.

In partnership,

Dr. Rupa

P.S. Summer is a great time to get ahead of the device conversation before the school year starts. If you have a tween who has — or is about to get — their first phone, Tech Ready is exactly where I'd start.