For those who enjoy reading, no other device can deliver the pleasures of the printed page
When Amazon released its first Kindle in 2007, many people said reading was about to change forever. Were they right?
I think not. While Amazon announced last week that it now sells more e-books than printed ones, plenty of readers still prefer the old-fashioned printed page to an electronic screen, and for good reason.
Of course there are advantages to being able to retrieve countless volumes of electronic information at the touch of a button. But it's important not to confuse retrieving information with reading. Many sources of information are not intended to be read. They're meant to be checked or scanned, or browsed or inspected. They've been created to leaf through, to glance at, to skim. No one reads a telephone directory.
I suspect that many people prefer spending time with their iPads not because they find reading with an iPad easier than with a traditional book, but because they prefer using it for something other than reading. For people who would rather check their e-mail, or play a video game, or run the latest app, an iPad or Play-Book is clearly the way to go.
But for people who genuinely enjoy reading, a fondness for traditional books will remain. Partly this comes from efficiency. For many people, reading a traditional book is preferable to reading on an iPad for the same reason that proofreading your written work is done more effectively using hard copy. Users say they find it easier to read and comprehend things when they're printed on paper.
As technology improves, perhaps this will change. Perhaps new screens will be just as easy on the eyes and just as easy to fold and put into your pocket as a piece of paper. Amazon's Kindle is intended to be easier to read than a backlit screen, for example.
But even if technology continues to improve, there's still a case to be made for the paperbound book.
At the top of most people's list is the so-called fondle factor. While reading, most people still prefer the touch and feel and look and smell of the printed page. This is something that's unlikely to change, despite advances in technology.
There's also the permanence factor. One advantage traditional books have over electronic screens is that a book will still be able to be read decades or even centuries after being printed. This isn't true of any other technology.
Full piece at Edmonton Journal.
I think not. While Amazon announced last week that it now sells more e-books than printed ones, plenty of readers still prefer the old-fashioned printed page to an electronic screen, and for good reason.
Of course there are advantages to being able to retrieve countless volumes of electronic information at the touch of a button. But it's important not to confuse retrieving information with reading. Many sources of information are not intended to be read. They're meant to be checked or scanned, or browsed or inspected. They've been created to leaf through, to glance at, to skim. No one reads a telephone directory.
I suspect that many people prefer spending time with their iPads not because they find reading with an iPad easier than with a traditional book, but because they prefer using it for something other than reading. For people who would rather check their e-mail, or play a video game, or run the latest app, an iPad or Play-Book is clearly the way to go.
But for people who genuinely enjoy reading, a fondness for traditional books will remain. Partly this comes from efficiency. For many people, reading a traditional book is preferable to reading on an iPad for the same reason that proofreading your written work is done more effectively using hard copy. Users say they find it easier to read and comprehend things when they're printed on paper.
As technology improves, perhaps this will change. Perhaps new screens will be just as easy on the eyes and just as easy to fold and put into your pocket as a piece of paper. Amazon's Kindle is intended to be easier to read than a backlit screen, for example.
But even if technology continues to improve, there's still a case to be made for the paperbound book.
At the top of most people's list is the so-called fondle factor. While reading, most people still prefer the touch and feel and look and smell of the printed page. This is something that's unlikely to change, despite advances in technology.
There's also the permanence factor. One advantage traditional books have over electronic screens is that a book will still be able to be read decades or even centuries after being printed. This isn't true of any other technology.
Full piece at Edmonton Journal.
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