My post was, in context, not about the Internet, it was in response to your comment in reference to:
"most folks nowadays don't really read books or novels anymore, what with TV, movies, and the Internet."
Comparing reading a 3-4 paragraph article on HN (or elsewhere) as being the same as reading a book or novel, the "rest of my post" was an anology.
True, those people that don't read ebooks or longer articles propably were not reading books or novels to begin with, so it is a win for literacy, but its just as likely they just shifted to that because it's easier to read an article off their phone while shitting than turning the pages of a physical magazine.
So TLDR; Reading articles online isn't the same level of effort as reading a book, which your comment seemed to support.
It's telling when writing a 3-4 paragraph article requires a ;TLDR section.
Usually when a person says they are a "reader," or the like, are specifically talking about long works, not articles in Maxim magazine.