Smoking zone, loading zone, reading zone. Which have you never seen before?

What if reading were openly promoted like, say, smoking?

It’s not a fair comparison, of course. Tobacco companies are multi-billion (or is it trillion?) dollar companies with enough money to advertise around the world. Oh wait, they’re not allowed to any longer. I forgot. But there are still dedicated smoking zones where smokers gather to light up.

What if there were reading zones where people gathered to, dare I say … light up?

We already learned that the solution to life is in the frozen food section of a Malaysian supermarket. But what if we put a cherry on top of that whipped cream cake and said that there dedicated “Reading Zones” in metro stations where reading was promoted? What’s the potential fallout?

The dangers of reading in a metro station:

Late: if it’s a really good book, you could miss your train. Fired from your job? Miss your dentist appointment? Be late for your date? Add that up: economic turmoil, unemployment increased, health insurance premiums rising and social distress. Just Don’t Read.
Crime: deep into chapter 23 and that thief might sneak up behind you and … steal your book.
Overly educated population: this is just bad on so many fronts. Too many educated people voting, making laws, inventing things. Stay Away from Books.
Influence on children: what if children were to witness this? In public? Without proper guidance and restrictions? It might lead to a massive shift in young people’s drive.
Escape: one might escape into the world of story.

We might as well go all out and have a Drug Zone, a Music Zone, a Dance Zone. What about a Love Zone, Kiss Zone, Bliss Zone? I know, things are getting out of hand. It’s pandemonium, chaos, practically the apocalypse. Let’s get real and keep it to what it is: Stare into my Phone Zone, Just One More Text Zone, Don’t Look at Anyone Else Zone.

But it’s real and it’s practically in the same building where they also offer the solution to life.