Commentary: ‘Estimated reading times’ on articles are antithetical to real reading
by David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times
Feb 02, 2023
3 minutes
I’ve got a bone to pick with “estimated reading times.” You know the ones I mean, those temporal cues that are increasingly popping up on magazine and newspaper websites indicating how long it will take to read a given piece. “3 min. read” or “7 min. read,” these markers inform us, accompanied by a small clock face icon.
They’re presented as an aid to readers, but, really, they are antithetical to the way reading works.
Why? Let’s start with the obvious reason,
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