Photo: "Sunny"/Top Channel

I happened to watch a TV interview, one of those that endlessly circulates on the feed. A charming, influential girl said with admirable candor that she doesn't read books, but uses them as photo props because "they're beautiful."

At first I wanted to laugh. Then I felt a deep sadness that I can't get over.

Not for the girl. She was honest. And honesty is an increasingly rare virtue. But the very fact that the honesty of ignorance has become a trend, a reason to receive applause instead of setting off an internal alarm.

I would have preferred that girl to lie. She would have told you that she reads "when she has time" or "I like psychology". She would have improvised a famous book title. Because sometimes, from the complex of not knowing, the ambition to learn arises. From shame comes the effort to improve. But when you proudly say that you don't read and that the book is just decoration for you, then you have neither shame nor a sense of lack - and consequently, no need to grow.

In a world where everything has to look beautiful, even the book has been degraded to a photo accessory. An object that "fits well in the frame", that complements the coffee, that gets more "engagement" on Instagram. And so far, perhaps we can accept it as part of the image culture. But the danger begins when this girl – and many others – do not feel bad about it, but on the contrary feel good. Because we no longer have a void that seeks to be filled, but a void that is proudly decorated.

This is the same as being sick and promoting a fever as part of your style.

Because ignorance, especially for a girl, is neither innocent nor aesthetic. Ignorance is harm. Ignorance is danger. Ignorance is perfect ground for manipulation, for addiction, for wrong choices that look like love, but are conditional sentences.

A girl who does not read, who is not informed, who does not feed her mind, does not have true independence. She may have money, fame, followers, but she has no basis for building a life with integrity. There is no filter to distinguish love from control. There is no judgment in choosing the right partner, the right friends, the right path. There are no words to defend yourself, to say “no”, to say “enough”.

And this is not just a matter of reading. It is a matter of mental and spiritual survival in a world that eats you alive if you have no brains.

The girl who spoke in the interview is not the problem. She is the symptom. The problem is a culture that no longer shames us when we don’t know. A society that educates us to be beautiful, but not strong. Visible, but not thought out.

I know it is not “trendy” to say these things today. I know that a thought that is not sarcastic, ironic or packaged in sweet words does not get many likes. But I say it with love and conviction:

Read. Not to take pictures with books. But so that one day, someone takes a picture with your words. Because your words will have made a difference.

- Written by Lorna V.

Note: This article reflects a personal view and does not necessarily represent the opinion or editorial line of Anabel.