Sticking to traditional books | The Triangle

Sticking to traditional books

Photograph courtesy of Maximilian Schönherr at Wikimedia

As technology has continued to develop, a lot of new forms of media have been created.

Television and radio are of course two of the major ones that have been around for years and have both continue to have an impact on the world. Another form of media is books, as well as their infamous counterpart: the e-book.

While the e-book has been gaining popularity, I personally believe that it is better to stick to traditional print books.

Printed books have existed for quite some time, whereas the e-book first came to exist in the 20th century and has continued to grow in popularity, as newer versions have been created and sold to the public. The Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire are two examples of newer e-book reading devices that have taken the general public by storm.

While lifelong preferences do play a major factor when it comes to people’s opinions on books and e-books, there are also some other things that play a role in what form of media people prefer.

One is the fact that we live in a technology-dominated age with many younger people who grew up with electronics, which made them naturally gravitate to the e-book.

This is especially the case for younger people who don’t enjoy reading because an e-reader, like the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, is closer to the electronic devices that they use on the regular.

Personally, I’ve always gravitated to traditional print books for a number of reasons.

When I was growing up, print books were what I was made accustomed to at a young age, so I naturally continued to read them more as I aged. Another reason for why I prefer print books is because I’ve always learned better when I have a physical book in my hand.

Some studies have also shown that retention may be increased if something is read on paper. In an article by Amy Kraft on CBS News, she wrote about how in an experiment from Norway, people were tasked with reading a short story on a Kindle or paperback book. They were then quizzed on what they had read, and people who had read the paperback version were more likely to recall the plot points from the stories in the correct order.

Paper is also easier on the eyes, which is another benefit to reading print books as opposed to e-books. As a college student, I already spend so much of my time staring at a screen, be it my laptop or phone, and there have been numerous times when my eyes have gotten tired from looking at a screen for extended periods of time.

However, despite some downsides of e-books, there are also some positives to reading them over print books.

Because e-books are electronic, they can be stored more efficiently and taken on-the-go with ease.

Having access to so many books at once is also a major plus side to e-books. There is also no need to worry about having a place to store the books, as they don’t take up physical space like print books.

E-books are also more accessible in that the font size and line spacing can be adjusted to meet the reader’s personal preferences. It’s was shown in a 2013 study in the journal PLoS One that this aspect can aid the reading-impaired.

In this study, the reading speed and comprehension of 103 high school students with dyslexia was observed, and it was found that people who have certain specific forms of dyslexia have a better experience with reading when using the e-reader compared to paper.

At the end of the day, whether you like print books or e-books comes down to personal preference. Some avid readers like myself will more than likely forever remain fond of having the feeling of a book in our hands and the pages turning between our fingers. For me, turning that last page in a book and then finding a nice snug spot for it in my library will always be one of the best feelings in the world.