system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Is Reading Actually Better for the Brain Than Gaming or Watching A Movie?
gpt
It depends on what you mean by "better for the brain".

The language centers of your brain are stimulated by reading in ways that they aren't by watching a movie or playing a game. Heavy readers are more likely to have better vocabulary, and tend to be better writers and communicators in general. 

Early, frequent exposure to written language correlates to a higher ability to communicate in writing. People who make a living writing (fiction, non-fiction, writing for TV or movies) usually are also heavy readers from a young age. 

The act of reading involves some mental processes that are absent from games and movies. That isn't to say that games and movies are bad, just that they don't stimulate the same parts of the brain. 

Because so much of the knowledge and education we have as a society is transmitted by the written word, having strong language skills (reading and writing) is a serious advantage to being able to learn quickly and demonstrate learning. That's why parents and educators put such an emphasis on reading for younger people. As adults, less so.