Reading on Paper vs. Reading with Pixels
This blog post intended to cover the most debated and debatable topic. But instead of starting an entire debate in this article, I hope to cover an important aspect of this debate. To me as a listener and a reader, I often wonder: Does it really matter whether we read e-books over physical paperback books?
Well, it piqued my curiosity and I began to research. Why is it that the choice of reading really matters. E-books have dealt with the major problems of paperback books. They are more affordable at time, require lesser physical space and allows you to explore a wide variety of content without a hassle right from your home.
The first aspect of this question is something that really caught my attention. Today, eye health has become crucial which is why e-book readers have launched features to protect your eye from the adverse effects of prolonged screen time. As it turns out, e-book readers like Kindle do have feature such as front-lighting and even lighting options which reduce the glare onto your eyes. But this aspect is more about the experience rather than the information similar to this entire topic.
In fact there has been a notable study conducted by Harvard and many other institutions. But ultimately these researches are based on three important factors.
First thing that had been discussed was the blinking factor. Studies show that humans are 50% less likely to blink while reading e-book reader with all the fancy perks as compared to a paperback book. This statistic gives paperback books more edge. When we move onto reading in a tablet or a computer the statistic favours paperback books furthermore.
But the second and third feature turn the tide around. Because now we realize that your kindle or any other e-book reader might have the edge over a paperback book. In this debate, debaters for paperback books often lean to points like paper is perfect and paper smells fresh. But paper is not as perfect as it appears.
Paper has to be bleached with chemicals so that you may have a perfectly white page. So this perfectly white page you hold in your hand actually contains chemicals that reflect blue light into your eyes. And in an e-book reader that has features like E-ink, (which is a feature that makes words seem to be written with actual ink) no blue light is reflected to your eyes because of this technology.
The third key point is based on the font size. While font size can be changed on e-book readers, paperback books often have small fonts and this font even has a tendency to fade. This causes your eyes to strain excessively which again impacts eyesight.
However we cannot overlook other aspects where paperback books have the edge. They provide better sensory connect to readers and the smell of new books has been cherished for long.
So let us go to the central idea. Is this debate more about what you are comfortable about or does it impact you and your society much if you favor one side more. Well, even publishers have upped the ante and improved their publishing ink like using matte ink.
So technology and ideas are evolving and both paperback books and e-books are evolving with the demands they have to meet. By opting for e-books you are giving yourself access to a wider range of books but at the same time there are limitations which are reducing and increasing too as technology improves. E-books reduce community dependency on libraries, book stores and also impact the sales of publishing houses.
And ironically piracy of books too has become an issue with certain sites giving you an opportunity to download books and read them from home.
So it all comes down to the wire of experience. If you want a larger library without having to visit the bookstores too often then e-book readers are the best. But that would affect stores and libraries which have historically been information sites and even referred to as the first Google. But paperback books have limitations but their sensory details are unmatched at least for now.
So I hope you enjoyed this post. This hotly debated topic has many more aspects but ultimately technology evolves and with it our choices. Do we choose to stick to tradition or evolve with time? That is what will influence our choices in the near future.
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Cover Image Credits: https://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/from-paper-to-pixels-the-rise-of-e-readers-and-digital-reading\
Inside image Credits:
- https://illumin.usc.edu/e-ink-technology-the-secret-behind-kindle/
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-revolutionary-effect-of-the-paperback-book-36209689/
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