Reading a screen that has gone busy
Look at a crowded screen and find the one part that matters, instead of feeling that all of it is shouting at you.
A busy page feels like being spoken to by six people at once. It helps enormously to know that most of them are not talking to you at all.
A web page is usually one thing you came for, surrounded by things somebody is paying to put there. The part you came for is nearly always in the middle, and it is nearly always the part with ordinary sentences in it.
Key points
- Most of a busy page is not addressed to you
- What you came for is usually in the middle, in plain sentences
- Anything moving or flashing is paid to be there
- Sponsored and Ad are the words to look for
- Reading mode hides everything except the article
What to remember
- The middle, sitting still, in ordinary sentences. That is nearly always the part you want.
- Movement is a sign of somebody paying for your attention, not of something important.
- Reading mode strips a page back to the words. It changes nothing at the website end.
Try this
Find a news article on your own computer and look for the reading mode button in the address bar. It is often a small page or book symbol. Press it once and see the page without any of the clutter — most people never discover it exists.
Practice: Reading a screen that has gone busy. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.