E-BOOKS VS PAPER BOOKS

1 Over the years, eBooks have made a big influence on the world of literature. Many people of this generation are putting down the traditional paper books, and picking up e-readers and other tablets to be their new source of reading. However, the popularity of e-books has its advantages as well as disadvantages. When trying to decide whether you want to read e-books or traditional paper books, you should consider certain things such as the physical characteristics of each product, and the effect the production of these products has on the environment.

2 In e-books, you can find the information you want easily and quickly. However, you need to read through the content to find the information in paper books. But imagine that you’ve taken your e-book with you while going on holiday. Right in the middle of your holiday, when you are reading a very exciting detective novel, your battery dies and you realize that you have forgotten the charger at home. How would you feel? Yet, if you have your paper book with you, you won’t have such problems. Still, if you are reading a paper book with many pages, you must carry it in your bag to the beach or cafe and it will be heavy after some time. However, e-books are lighter and you can have multiple books in one, easy-to-carry tablet.

3 While deciding on which one is better, the environmental effects of both e-books and paper books should be considered as well, because the earth is older and more fragile now. Producing an e-book requires no paper, but the metals used in the production of e-books can be highly toxic and this threatens your health. Traditional paper books are, on the other hand, the enemies of nature as millions of trees are cut each year to produce the paper needed for them. Thus, it has become a new trend to use recycled paper and most publishers choose recycled paper to show that they are environmentally friendly.

4 According to much research, over 92% of people concentrate best when they read a paper book. Especially people between the ages 15 and 25 report that while doing reading for school or pleasure, they find it easier to concentrate on print books. So, it is advised by professionals that you should stay away from e-books especially if you have difficulty in concentrating.

5 In conclusion, you as readers should decide which choice you prefer more: of whether to stick with the “old school” paper book or go with the new, fancy e-book technology. There are advantages and disadvantages with using either e-books or traditional books. Thus, it will be up to you to decide which choice to make.