Should Medium Change Their Reading Time Requirement?
Or should you change your perception?
How many times did you look at your stats and got upset that people only pretend to read your articles?
We all know you get paid for reading time. So dammit, people need to take their time and read your articles. Otherwise, you don’t make money.
Most people on this platform write because they have a passion for writing but that doesn’t mean you stop caring about your income.
Understandably, you will get upset if people only pretend to read.
At the beginning of each article, Medium will tell you how long it takes to read the article. And this creates expectations for reading time. You expect that people will spend a certain amount of time reading your articles.
And if they don’t, you will make your own assumptions.
I have looked at the suggested reading time and thought it was long. I looked at my own articles and couldn’t think that it would take anyone that long to read them.
But knowing I read faster than the average person, I thought Medium would know what they are doing.
But I am not convinced…
Is the Estimated Reading Reliable?
Let’s start with a few statistics.
I analyzed a few of my articles and it seems that Medium base reading speed at about 225 words per minute (wpm). (Give or take, this isn’t an exact science.)
According to studies, the average reading time for adults is between 200 and 250 wpm. And the average of that is Medium’s 225wpm. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
But the problem with averages is that you will always have people above and below the average.
Included in this average, will be people with dyslexia (or those who simply read slowly). Dyslexic readers on average reads between 50 and 150 words per minute. Yes I know there are exceptions but we are working on averages here.
I have 2 kids with dyslexia. My eldest can read very fast. But she will be the first to admit that she has zero comprehension when she increases her reading speed. If she switches to reading for comprehension though, she finds reading tiresome and hates it. Hence, she prefers audio.
Then there are people that can read much faster than the average and when trying to read slower, they get bored and lose comprehension and interest.
Let’s have a look at North West Missouri State University’s guidelines for reading speed.
- 150 wpm — Insufficient for college
- 250 wpm — Average general reader (too slow for college)
- 400 wpm — Good general reader (minimum for effective college reading)
- 600 wpm — Strong college reader
- 1000 wpm — Excellent
Considering that Medium is a reading platform...
A place where you will find people who like to read.
Does the expectation of people reading at 225wpm make sense?
Potential Problems with Reading Time.
Low Average
Let’s take one of my articles of 1120 words. According to Medium, this will take 5 minutes to read at 224wpm. Do people who love to read, read at this average speed, or do they read faster?
If a college student reads my article at 600wpm, it will take less than 2 minutes to read the 5-minute article.
I can understand why people get upset thinking others are pretending to read when the reported reading time is 2 minutes.
How Difficult are Medium Articles to Read?
Even if you write about a technical subject, you will seldom find a Medium article that is written at the level of a college textbook. In fact, if you write at that level, you will probably not have many readers.
So if someone is capable of reading and understanding a college-level textbook at 600wpm, it is safe to say they will be able to read Medium articles even faster.
Yikes, my 5-minute article’s reading time can now probably be reduced to just over 1 minute.
Medium’s Audio Option
Medium gives the option to listen to audio, but it is a monotone computer, reading words out loud. There is no feeling or nuance in the reading.
Personally, I don’t find it pleasant to listen to.
And of course, reading out loud is a lot slower than silent reading. But it seems like the reading time indication is also based on how long the audio reading takes.
Slow Readers Seldom Read
With the vast number of possibilities available on the internet, people who don’t like reading or struggle with reading have the option to go to audio platforms.
My dyslexic daughter might read my article simply because I am her mom. Will she go search for other articles on Medium? No.
If she is interested in something, she will move to a platform like YouTube or find an audiobook where she can listen to a real person speaking.
What Should Medium Do?
I understand that Medium would like people to read articles. After all, the point of the platform is for people to write articles that others can read.
But is their measurement of reading time the right way to go? I don’t know.
Maybe at least it prevents people from getting paid simply because someone clicked on a link.
Maybe they should change the estimated reading time so people can change their expectations.
Maybe they should find another way altogether.
But right now, that is how Medium measures performance so…
Maybe, writers need to change their perception and understand that their statistics will always be skewed. There is no way you will know if someone read your 5-minute article in 2 minutes or scrolled through it for 2 minutes.
I decided not to torture myself by trying to read for 5 minutes on something that normally takes me less than 2 minutes. I don’t expect others to do this either.
And if people want to pretend to read just so you will read their articles, so be it. I still learn from and enjoy other people’s articles, regardless of whether they read mine or not.
So maybe it is time to worry less about individuals’ reading time and start to enjoy writing your articles. The reading time will come.
