I've found much of the same problem: I'm someone who's easily distracted anyway, and it's frustrating not being able to read.
Here's what I've found works for me, for books and articles:
- For books, setting aside dedicated time to read is really useful. This means that I leave my phone in another place, out of reach, so I'm not tempted to pick it up and check Facebook/Twitter/etc. For me, this is somewhere away from other distractions, like my computer / workspace, etc.
- Set aside a small amount of time to read without distraction in a setting like this, and grow that amount. Maybe that's 10-15 minutes? Start that out as a routine, and as you get more comfortable with it, add on a little more time. Block out that space and aggressively protect it. I've found that setting aside reading time in the morning, before I open up my computer and check social media, really helps.
Generally, I've found that the more I read, the better I get at it: practice, practice, practice. Treat it like an atrophied skill.
For longer articles, I have a bookmark set up for the newsletter I write (andrewliptak.substack.com), in which I have a short recommended articles section. I reserve this for longer-form pieces, and when I come across something that looks interesting, I bookmark it and come back to it when I'm in a good mindset to actually read the thing (see my above point.) I've set aside other parts of the day (usually at the end) to read these sorts of things.
Another thing that I'd recommend is Pocket.
Another good practice thing for reading is short stories. I typically save them via pocket, and read them when I've got smaller pockets of time to read something.