The digital age provides many benefits to the world; however, these advances are drawing society closer toward a synthetic plastic screen.
I request that our culture recall our youth, when our parents would read stories at bedtime. Children stared intently at the fantasia of colors in the images and would fight with siblings for the sacred privilege of turning the page. Books taught children how to form words coherently, as parents shared the pages with them, showcasing the illustrations.
Now, reading with children has become more impersonal, with the invention of Kindles and Nooks. These digital readers are designed for an individual’s use, but leave little room for others to share the pages.
Children learn phonics by listening to their parents read and following along in the book. Parents focus on showing the pictures to their children, but e-readers diminish the importance of connecting the images with the phrases that accompany them; therefore, an important aspect of the experience is destroyed.
The effects on education do not end when the child enters a proper learning institution.
Digital readers are beneficial in the educational process, as a download is much cheaper than printed textbooks. Moreover, they are also much lighter than books, which is a form of salvation for students’ spines.
One major drawback for the e-reader is the possibility of loss or battery malfunction, thus creating a learning environment that is highly impaired. Also, e-readers possess the potential to be stolen, as the tablets re-sell for higher prices on eBay than books.
For the causal bookworm, e-readers have their benefits; yet possess some aesthetic drawbacks. Personally, I hold a preference towards actual bound novels. The experience is different with the texture of the page combined with the constant sight of the declining page count than with the electronic screen, which more often than not draws me into slumber.
However, in the age of maximum luggage weight, e-readers are much more convenient than books, as more novels can be held on the e-reader than can be affordably checked in a suitcase.
The decision of the reader falls to the choice between two differing ideals, whether to embrace the new technological future of literature, or to cling to the bindings that were suitable for the advancement of novels until the present day.
Editor’s note: Views expressed in this column are the writer’s and not necessarily those of the Recorder Newspaper.
