Scholz says social media bubbles a ‘curse,’ reading books better

 

BERLIN – The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has made a distinction between social media and reading books. 

According to Olaf Scholz, social media confirms people in their already formed opinions and that is a “curse.”

“[That is] the curse of social media: that we can settle comfortably into our bubbles, where we only get things suggested to us that fit what we always thought was right”, the Social Democrat (SPD) politician told Saturday’s edition of the German broadsheet the Süddeutsche Zeitung.

The special thing, however, is “the new, the unknown.” In the interview, Scholz said that this was also what attracted him to reading. Books convey many different perspectives beyond one’s own experiences, the chancellor said.

“That’s the great thing about literature, that it lets you share in experiences that you don’t have yourself and often don’t want to have yourself,” he said.

Scholz said he finds books a “wonderful complement” to the conversations he has with citizens as a politician.

“All these conversations give me, as a politician, different insights and views from citizens who live very differently from me. Books add a literary component to my experiences, I don’t want to miss that.”

The chancellor went on to say, “I simply love to read. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes it’s more novels – then again more non-fiction. The phases alternate.”

During his time as chairman of the youth wing of his party, for example, he had “an intensive science fiction phase.”

He doesn’t tend to read lying down, Scholz revealed: “If you want to concentrate, it’s better to adopt an upright posture. So, I read on a chair, in an armchair, on the windowsill, in the car and on a plane. I also used to just sit on the floor, lean against the wall and read.”