One of the worst things we can do to ourselves is become too serious. There is this Calvinist hangover in Europe and North America that if it is fun it can't be good for you. But all the Science shows that learning through play, through music, through group interaction and through movement is far more effective than miserable rote learning sat at a desk. Which goes quadruple if you are neurodivergent in some way. Reading is a way to learn through play. Not just filling our head with facts (although that can happen too) it is about building a brain architecture, linking neural pathways, and exercising those neurons.

I think reading expands our ability to empathise with people, because we literally step into a characters shoes and see things from their perspective. Which makes it easier to do with real people. It can also show us perspectives of people from different races, physical abilities, gender, cultures.

But I think we need a balance of a lot of different experiences to really build a whole brain. Gaming, art, sports*, music, socialising with friends, all of it builds brains.

*Sports is another area which people get annoyingly serious about. Casual fun games for the non athlete start to disappear as kids get older.