When my friends and I come to a situation where we have to choose one between watching movies or reading books, we often choose the former.
à “the former” means that you choose watching movies, but it conflicts with the sentence comes after – “I have a preference for choosing reading”. Also, there is no purpose for which you mention “my friend and I” in your essay. You better go with “I”.
Truth be told, I have a preference for choosing reading instead of watching movies.
I think that reading books has far more advantages than those of watching movies.
à What does “those” indicate?
The advantages are the wider range of vocabulary,
à When you use a comparative, there is supposed to have something being compared. Apparently, there is nothing compared in your sentence or context
stimulation of one’s curiosity ,
à In my opinion, this is not a good support idea for your thesis statement because movies are obviously produced in order to stimulate people’s curiosity using visual effects within short running hours. Instead, you might use other support ideas such as: building academic/practical knowledge, providing a good opportunity releasing stress without tension and loudness, building critical thinking skills, etc,.
and the second-hand experience.
Example)
When I come to an occasion where I have to choose one between watching a movie and reading a book, I often choose the former. Truth be told, I have a strong preference for reading a book instead of watching a movie. I believe that reading a book has far more advantages than watching a movie. The advantages include: exposure to a wide range of vocabulary, building critical thinking skills, and experience beyond where readers are.
** I've put some comments on your introduction. Hopefully, this helps your writing. :D