I don't think that really compares. The main way to use social media - at least to my observation - seems to be looking often for short intervals. That would be the opposite of binge reading as it is very superficial, always in the background and seldom with a real focus on it.

Still, people are reading and consuming more information than any time in history. When the alternative is probably no information rather than some.

The fact it's not great information vs what you might find in a well-thought out book is a different question.

The information density is typically much higher though.

Yup, I get this sense too. You also write, "any variety of quality and less than quality online sources."

Is there research that explains what the economics looks like between these two ends of the quality spectrum? How do the highbrow and lowbrow sources work in the marketplace?

That’s an interesting question in itself. Since different processes kick off in the brain in handwriting vs typing on a keyboard. Does this effect quality and therefor economics?

I spend 6-10 hours a day binge reading Hacker News, Reddit, Google search results, etc. Is it qualitatively different than reading books? Am I missing out? I feel like books are expensive, repetitive, and take forever to get to the point.

>? I feel like books are expensive, repetitive, and take forever to get to the point.

The self help genre