Why accomplished teen readers read more from paper books than from their phone screens?
Today, we are living in the digital age where people of all ages are constantly connected to the Internet and social media and the e-reader is more than just a thing. Teenagers especially seem to be obsessed with technology and are constantly on their phones, tablets or computers. You may think that this makes them more likely to prefer e-readers as opposed to paper books. But you’d be wrong. Statistics show that teenage readers today still prefer printed books over e-readers by a landslide. So what is it about printed books that make them so much more appealing? Let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons why teenagers prefer paper books to e-readers:
The Feel & Smell Of A New Book Is Something You Just Can’t Get From An E-Reader
Printed books are tactile. When you hold a printed book in your hands, you can feel its covers, its paper, even its binding. Printed books also have a very distinct smell – the unique scent of fresh paper and ink. When you open a new printed book, you can even smell the freshness of it. These sensory experiences are simply not possible with an e-reader. Another thing that printed books do is create a connection to the past. Printed books have been around for hundreds of years. They’re a part of our collective history because they’ve been around for so long. Printed books are also much more likely to become collector’s items. Printed books represent a connection to the past, as well as a connection to the future. They are a way to preserve the written word, even as technology evolves. e-Readers, on the other hand, are a relatively new phenomenon. While they have become more popular in recent years, they are still a relatively new technology. Printed books, on the other hand, have been around for ages, and will likely last for many more centuries to come.
Teenagers Prefer The Durability Of Printed Books
Printed books are way more durable than e-readers. If a teenager is reading in bed or on the couch, it is completely normal for them to rest their head on a book – especially if they’re reading in bed and waiting for sleep to come. With e-readers, however, this could cause damage to the device and even render it unusable. Printed books, on the other hand, are much less likely to sustain damage from this type of reading position. Printed books are also much less likely to break or get lost than e-readers. Printed books can last for decades, while e-readers have a much shorter lifespan. They require charging and battery replacement, which is just one more thing that could go wrong with them. Another reason that printed books are more durable is that they don’t require any special care. You don’t have to worry about charging them, or keeping them dry. You don’t have to worry about dropping them either or about water getting into them. You don’t have to put them in a special case or have to be extra careful with them. Printed books also don’t require any special software or apps in order to read them. All you have to do is open the book and start reading.
E-Readers Are Constantly Causing Readers To Be Disconnected
e-Readers make it easy to access books from anywhere at any time; something that printed books simply cannot do. However, that doesn’t seem to be appealing to teenage readers. The fact that they are constantly connected can also be a negative factor. If a teenager is using an e-reader and they are connected to the Internet, they are constantly being distracted by social media, advertisements, and other digital content. Printed books, on the other hand, make it very easy to avoid this type of distraction. This makes them better for reading and for improving reading skills. Another thing that e-readers do is make it easy for teenagers to cheat on their school reading assignments. E-readers make it very easy to access any book, including textbooks, from anywhere at any time. Printed books, on the other hand, don’t allow you to access books remotely. They are much more difficult to cheat on school reading assignments with printed books. Printed books make it much more difficult to cheat on reading assignments, as well as to be distracted by social media.
Paper Books Don’t Require Charging Or Battery Replacement
As discussed above, e-readers require charging and battery replacement over time. Printed books, on the other hand, require no upkeep whatsoever. You don’t have to worry about them running out of battery and dying on you. You don’t have to worry about them running out of charge or needing to be plugged in. You don’t have to worry about their reading device going down. Printed books don’t require any of these things. Printed books don’t require any upkeep of any kind. You don’t have to plug them in. You don’t have to charge them. You don’t have to worry about them dying on you in the middle of reading.
Printed Books Just Feel More Comfortable To Hold & Read
There’s just something about holding a printed book in your hands that just feels so much more comfortable than holding an e-reader. Printed books are much lighter and easier to hold and read for extended periods of time. E-readers, on the other hand, can get really heavy after you’ve been reading them for a while. Printed books don’t do that. Printed books are also much easier to rest your head on while reading in bed as opposed to e-readers. They are much lighter and don’t get as hot as e-readers do. Printed books are also much easier to place on a table or other flat surface while you’re reading. You can’t do that with an e-reader because you’re constantly holding it in your hands. You’re also constantly having to use both of your hands to hold it. So you can’t prop it up somewhere or set it down somewhere while you’re reading. Printed books don’t require two hands to be read, unlike e-readers. They are much more comfortable to read for extended periods of time.
Conclusion
All in all, it seems as though the now aged argument for the advantages and disadvantages of paper books is one that is still truly head and shoulders above the one for e-readers in every way. Printed books are much more durable, easier to hold and read, don’t require any upkeep, don’t require any charging or battery replacement, and don’t cause readers to be constantly distracted by social media. Why then are e-readers so much more popular than printed books among teenagers? Perhaps it’s because teenagers are drawn to new technology. Or maybe it’s because teenagers are lazy and don’t want to have to deal with the upkeep required for printed books. Whatever the reason, it is clear that while printed books vs ebooks will continue to draw a lot of attention in time to come, for now printed books are still the preferred choice among teenage readers.