[Source: Associated Press, Steve Gonzales]
Many people may wonder, is it necessary to continue printing books now that technology has advanced to the point where we can do everything with electronics? Although both ways are effective and useful, it is definite that they have their advantages and disadvantages.
Firstly, printed books. It is known that the debate between reading from paper or screen has been going on since the 1980’s. The biggest advantage of printed books are that they do not give difficulty to the reader while they are reading. For example, if a person had been reading from a screen for a long amount of time, due to the emission of light, their eyes could feel difficulty and may even hurt. Another advantage of printed books are that to the babies and toddlers of our new generation, they are more interactive, which the children love. Also, the children learn better when they actually have something to touch and have a hands on lesson with.
Continuing, there are disadvantages of printed books and newspapers as well. The first disadvantage is a topic that has been talked about very much in our society, and that is the cutting down of numerous trees. Printing more books and newspapers means that the same amount of trees are being cut down daily. The number of trees that are cut down to print books are reaching nearly 30 million.
A second disadvantage is the smearing of the ink on the books. Nowadays, even more books are smearing as soon as the books are bought, making it very hard for the reader to be able to read the book happily. With eBooks, there is no reason for the ink to smear or smudge because there is no ink at all.
[Source: Associated Press, Mark Lennihan]
Secondly, the eBooks. In this generation, almost everyone carries around some sort of electronic. This could be a phone, laptop, or even a tablet. The first advantage of eBooks come here. By simply owning an electronic, most people are able to download and read books online. The process is very simple, earning great praise. As said in the paragraph before, with more eBooks, many more trees would be saved and preserved. Another important advantage of eBooks are that they are easy to read. Most electronics have zoom functions, allowing the reader to focus into words they cannot read or the ones that are too small for them to read.
This does not mean that there are no disadvantages as well. One of the disadvantages of eBooks include the fact that they give off a light that can damage one’s eyes. Studies involving neuroscience has shown that reading on screen uses a different part of our brain, shifting our brains toward “non-linear reading” and may affect our deep reading skills. As deep reading is a very important skill for humans to have, it is important that it is not lost from reading eBooks.
In conclusion, there has been a continuous debate surrounding this topic, and there still has not been a complete answer. People of different gender, age, and even generation could possibly have a different opinion on this topic. Therefore, from everyone’s personal experiences, the approach towards this topic could end up in several different pathways. Reading is a very important tool in life, so when reading, everyone should read in the most comfortable way that they feel is right for them.
Rosalia Park, Grade 8
Rosemont Middle School
