Jack Perry

Nov 6th 2020

Mr. Storer 

Literature/Composition 4

Are Ebooks better than Printed Books

The Pandemic has been difficult especially when finding written resources. When we

are looking for information on the world around us, for research or pleasure reading, 

we go to online sources because of the convenience. The question is, are ebooks a

good replacement for printed books?

Before the pandemic, students had equal access to ebooks and printed books, so

they could choose which they preferred to read. The National Literacy Trust (NLT) did

a survey on this in 2014 to “explore the impact of ebooks on the reading motivation

and reading skills of children and young people” (Picton, Irene) in approximately 100 primary and secondary schools in the UK .

The graph above shows what percentage of students surveyed read on technology vs

print.  Ereaders are shown to be used by most of the students but they also found

that these students had trouble retaining the information if they only read online. 

The graph above from the same survey shows a good mix of screen and print helps boost the students' understanding of what they are reading but individually printed reading still had better results. This gives us a perspective that reading on technology is not good for younger students learning to read. 

Accessing printed resources is harder now that we are in a pandemic. Most people have to resort to looking up information online to understand what is going on in the world or reading ebooks. Teachers and students trying to return to school are forced to find ebooks to replace printed books or order them from online stores, especially since libraries and bookstores aren’t as accessible. 

We should be careful of only reading ebooks especially with younger children. For kids 3 and younger, they need to create “interpersonal relationships and any screen time will compromise that development.”(Guay, Kristin) The lack of physical movement of turning the page, representing the movement of the story is an example of development. For kids age of 4 and 5, it is recommended by the World Health Organization that they have only an hour of screen time per day. This is because “what children need most for mental and physical development is physical activity and sleep, and screen time interferes with this” (Guay, Kristin). At ages 5-10 ebooks can help some readers by using the technology of being able to change the font or brightness of the literature. But there are quite a lot of distractions that accompany ebooks, like other apps and games. “Many studies have shown that middle and high school students actually prefer print books over e-readers”(Guay, Kristin). Now in education, people are consistently using resources online because it's convenient, but the fact that older kids like reading printed materials is important. 

But what of adults who use literature to research, are ebooks good for them? Historians believe that ebooks should be used for less important information. The American Historian Association surveyed their board members asking if they were open to using ebooks for review. They found the board was against it because they could not take efficient notes on ebooks. Taking notes allows them to go back to the information later and have a better understanding . This goes back to the previous point about retaining information is affected when reading ebooks.

The data on ebooks and printed books show us that both can be helpful to us. Reading a printed book is better for developing good reading habits and comprehension but ebooks are more accessible and user friendly for those who need to adjust font and brightness. If we learned anything from the pandemic it is we need to find balance. This also seems to be true on the subject of ebooks vs. printed books.   

Bibliography:

Dionne, Karen. “How E-Books Are Changing the Economics of Writing.” AOL.com, AOL, 15 July 2016, www.aol.com/2010/12/25/e-books-change-economics-of-writing/.

Guay, Kristin. “EReaders vs. Printed Books: What's Better for Kids?” Baystate Parent, Baystate Parent, 21 Sept. 2020, www.baystateparent.com/news/20200921/ereaders-vs-printed-books-whats-better-for-kids.

“History E-Books May Be Good for Reading, but Not (Yet) for Reviewing: Perspectives on History: AHA.” History E-Books May Be Good for Reading, but Not (Yet) for Reviewing | Perspectives on History | AHA, www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/may-2012/history-e-books-may-be-good-for-reading-but-not-(yet)-for-reviewing.     

McMaken, Linda. “Exploring the Differences between E-Books vs. Print Books.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 28 Aug. 2020, www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0812/e-books-vs.-print-books.aspx.

Picton, Irene. “The Impact Of Ebooks.” Teachwire, National Literacy Trust , https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED560635.pdf. 

“The Impact Of Ebooks.” Teachwire, www.teachwire.net/news/the-impact-of-ebooks