A reading culture can help individuals grow to be smarter, healthier, and even nicer. This, in turn, will have tremendous benefits to society in terms of productivity, cost savings, and perhaps, even an overall more peaceful and civilized citizenry. 

For individuals, developing a reading culture is important because reading has both cognitive and physical benefits to people at all stages of life. This means that it's important to read continuously from childhood, to adulthood, and all the way to retirement age because not only does reading make you smarter, it also makes you healthier.

First, I think we can all agree that reading is a an important foundational skill that individuals need for learning. In fact, according to a Reader's Digest online article, children as young as six months who read books with their parents several times a week have stronger literacy skills, score better at intelligence tests, and can land better jobs in adulthood than non-readers. That's because through reading, we are exposed to more words compared to watching videos or even intelligent conversation. It's this exposure to words that scientists believe helps increase our intelligence and equip ourselves to become better learners.  

As Dr. Seuss famously wrote, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” In other words, reading can help broaden our knowledge, open up new worlds, and take us places. It can take us from being average students while young to becoming a well-respected professional in adulthood. Just think about the fact that most professional careers today require a certain amount of reading to get there. From doctors reading about human anatomy to physicists reading about scientific theories, and lawyers reading books upon books of jurisprudence and case law. All of those professions require a certain amount of reading, after all.

Second, aside from making us smarter, reading fiction can also make us nicer. Believe it or not, reading stories about individuals from different cultures and walks of life, can actually help increase our Emotional Intelligence (EQ). A 2013 study has found that people who read fiction showed a noticeable increase in empathy one week later, compared to those who only read newspapers. This is because by reading fiction, we learn put ourselves in different characters' shoes and see the world from different perspectives. This can only help us get better at understanding other people's point of view and be more sensitive to their feelings. 

Finally, reading can also help us live longer, healthier lives. According to a 2009 study, even just 6 minutes of reading is enough to reduce our stress levels by up to 68%. This is impressive, considering the same study found that reading was actually more effective than at reducing stress than listening to music (61%), drinking coffee (54%), taking a walk (42%), or even playing video games (21%).  This means that reading regularly is one way help us avoid stress-related illnesses and diseases.

In addition, reading is also a great way to keep our minds active, even in old age, which scientists believe could be key to fighting Alzheimer's disease. Scientists believe that individuals who challenges their brain with highly stimulating activities like reading and playing chess from their 20s until up to their 60s are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those who engage in less stimulating activities. 

Now, what does this mean for society? 

Just imagine, if a reading culture can help produce a population that is smarter, nicer, and healthier, what kind of society could we build? From a pragmatist's point of view, we could see that a healthier population means less expenditures on health, while a smarter population could mean a more productive population, who can all contribute to the economy. However, what's most important is the impact that a population with high emotional intelligence can contribute to society. Perhaps, this could lead to a political climate that thrives on discourse without resorting to fighting. Or a population that is more empathic of every citizen's needs. Perhaps, I'm just imagining a reading culture utopia. Nonetheless, there really is no way to know for sure, until we can actually nurture a population that values reading the way it should be.

Hope this helps!

Sources:

1. Here's Why Your Brain Needs You to Read Every Single Day. https://www.rd.com/culture/benefits-of-reading/
2. 8 Science-Backed Reasons to Read a (Real) Book. https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/benefits-of-reading-real-books
3. Reading 'can help reduce stress'. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/5070874/Reading-can-help-reduce-stress.html