Kindle Vs Book

On a global scale, according to phys.org, “humans are reading less than ever before.” Sadly, it’s all due to the fact we spend a significant portion of our time glued to a screen. We read digital media every single day, whether it is on Facebook, discussion forums, or even Snapchat; however, we are starting to forget what reality looks like. We now depend on a phone, a computer, or any kind of screen to mediate our life. This dependency on our devices presents the issue of books: printed or electronic?

Touching a book cover and being able to hold it in your hands makes a difference. Why? Well, based on publicationcoach.com, “Kindle readers have a hard time remembering what books they’ve read.” Although their past entries are recorded in a log, readers can’t call to mind any visual images associated with the books they’ve read, limiting their experience. “But the experience with the paper book is more real, it feels real,” Valentina Velez, 11th-grade student, said. So is it actually worth changing physical books for electronic ones, knowing you’re not even going to remember what you read? When a group of people was surveyed about this, the results clearly favored physical books. “If someone hands me the exact same book for the same price in paperback, 9/10 times I would take it,” Butterworth said.

On the other hand, a Kindle is handier, so when you’re going on a long trip it will obviously be easier to take. “I was a big traveler and imagine carrying a bunch of books in a backpack vs a kindle,” Butterworth said. During long trips, you don’t want the space in your luggage to be taken up by books instead of clothes and new purchases. This is what the Kindle was made for, thousands of books in a small device that can be carried in your purse, undeniably a wonder, but is it actually living up to the reading experience? Based on some interviews made around TCS, clearly, students prefer paper books (when reading for fun, not academically wise).

Another factor to consider is how your reading abilities are being affected by e-books, which is surprisingly more than you’d think. After a long time of reading in technology, you’ll find yourself following the F or Z Pattern. These are the most common eye-tracking patterns people use unconsciously when they read. People sample the first line of the text and then word-spot through the rest, which negatively affects the deep reading process by making the reader understand less and miss important details. What fun would it be to read a book and realizing at the end you’re not able to fully describe the characters because you unknowingly avoided part of the reading? When you read a book you try to be part of it; when you read, you are part of the story. However, with this technique, that is being developed due to prolonged screen reading, you will understand what the book is about but won’t live it.

Kindles have lots of positive aspects, especially for large institutions like schools. This is why TCS teachers are planning on making this a requirement, that will allow students to download any book they want in just seconds. “We are trying to get it so that students are required to have a Kindle at school… it’s 70 bucks and you can get all the books you want,” Butterworth said. Having this in mind, academically wise it would be much better to have a kindle because it is cheaper and good for your eyes. On the other hand, during your free time, a boo would be better, because this is a way for you to live the actual reading experience.