One
of the most frequently discussed topics in the realm of bibliophiles besides
the latest happening good books is that whether e-books, someday, could surpass
the existence of paper books, or at least, equally substitute them. Due to the
developing technology of smart devices with large and pleasantly crisp screens
i.e. smart phones, tablets, laptops, and, obviously, e-book reader devices like
Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook, it is hardly a surprise that the
popularity of e-books is growing fast by 4456% or more than 457 million of
e-books sold since 2008, as reported by Association
of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group. Some people
argue that e-books devices are way more convenient in size and weight—and as
they are portable, bringing lengthy and heavy books such as David Foster
Wallace’s Infinite Jest would not hurt one’s shoulder so much as paperbacks; others
support that they are more accessible for people can bring unlimited number of
books in one device and read it wherever and whenever; and one more substantial
thing is that e-books are more eco-friendly, considering the fact that book
publishers made paper books out of 30 million trees a year—which is one of the
factors why the earth is getting hotter. To me, personally, as an English
Department student who is bound to read every day, it is indeed true that
e-books have a lot of advantages; however, I prefer to stay reading in
conservative way i.e. reading paper books. I profoundly believe it is not
necessarily because I like smelling the scent of new books, or because I enjoy
the feeling of holding and stacking them to my bookshelf, or other reasons people
would proudly answer to the question of why staying to read manually; it is because
in fact, paper books play more beneficial role in better reading comprehension,
reading effectiveness, and health, especially for students.
The very first reason paper books are better is because readers
may absorb more knowledge than reading e-books. Reading is a process in which
it involves both multi-sensory and motor activities, as well as cognitive
skills (Mangen, 2008); thus, when one’s reading on screen, it is practically
the same yet more complex than on paper. She stated that the sense of fingers
flipping the pages as one reads a story in a book is a sort of sensory means
that provides an effective way of memorizing. The fingertips work like a
page-marker signaling where one stops in a text. E-book devices may have
‘scrolling’ or ‘page-like flipping’ features, which are basically the same as
turning the pages in paperbacks, but they do not function the same way. In fact, scrolling pages is a distraction in
reading (Wästlund, 2004). Even though it
only takes a little effort to do so, there would still be a pause in between,
and after that one may have to start looking for a new starting point and to
re-concentrate again. It is, unfortunately, distracting the short-term memory
of the previous pages, and thus making one barely remember of what he has read.
These findings were also validated by a study conducted in 2013 among tenth
graders in Norway primary schools, proving that people who read texts on paper
have better reading comprehension than those who read on screens (Mangen,
Walgermo, and Brønnick, 2013). With that being said, it can be implied that reading
books traditionally is the best way to boost students’ performance in better
memorizing and richer understanding.
Second, reading paper books is more
effective than reading e-books in terms of productivity and time. Reading on
screen is often interrelated with multitasking and distractions. For instance, suppose students read in
their smart phones connected to Wi-Fi or mobile network connection, they will
be likely to be distracted with the notifications of social media popping out
in minute-basis; and humans, with all of their curiosity, tend to respond it as
fast as possible—neglecting the book unfinished. Subrahamnyam, K and Michikyan, M. et al. (2013) stated that by being
multitasked, the time needed to finish reading a text, regardless its length,
is increased. In addition to that, screen-based reading also takes much
time than in paper-based: it is 6.2% slower for
iPad, 10.7% slower for Kindle (Nielsen, J. 2010). Thus, it can be concluded
that it is best to limit the usage of digital devices for studying activities
since it is not wholly effective due to the distractions, and it takes longer
period of reading than paper books.
Third, many people feel that e-reading does
not work the same charm as traditional reading; they often feel tired to read
in prolonged period of time. This occurs especially to those who were not
exposed too much to technology. They cannot adapt to reading on screens quickly
than those who were, whatever the mediums are. Even though many devices like Kindle
Fire and Nook have screens with e-ink technology or print-like quality, and
tablets have LCD with convenient backlight, there are still many disadvantages
of on-screen reading to one’s health. Benedetto S, Drai-Zerbib V, et al. (2013)
stated that reading on screen, especially on tablets’ LCD, in a long period of
time cause more visual fatigue as people tend to not blink often while reading
at the screens over time. If one suffers from visual fatigue, he/she might have
periodical headaches, neck or back pain, and difficulty in concentrating for a
long period of time; and it will be undeniably inconvenient for those,
particularly students, who have to read in daily basis.
In a nutshell, I am sure that
everyone has his/her own preference in reading, either it is digitally or
traditionally, and both have their own merit. However, the advantages of
paper-based reading still outweigh those of e-reading. Paper books still excel
in reading comprehension because no matter how similar the quality of the
e-book devices’ screens with printed books, the texts are still digital, and
hence detached from the physical support (Mangen, 2008). Reading paper books is
also more effective and less-distracting than e-reading, and it works better
for those who cannot adapt to reading on-screens and those who could easily
suffer from visual fatigue but still have to read every day. Considering all
the above-mentioned advantages, I strongly suggest students read paper books
for a better studying process.
Annisa
Lista Sari
Persuasive
Academic Essay
References:
Benedetto
S, Drai-Zerbib V, Pedrotti M, Tissier G, Baccino T (2013) E-Readers and Visual
Fatigue. PLoS ONE 8(12): e83676. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083676
Mangen,
A. Walgermo R. B, Brønnick, K. (2013) Reading linear texts on paper versus
computer screen: Effects on reading.
International Journal of Educational Research, 58 (2013) 61–68
Mangen,
A. (2008) Hypertext fiction reading: haptics and immersion. Journal of Research in Reading, Volume
31, Issue 4, 2008, pp 404–419
Nielson,
J. (2010) iPad and Kindle Reading Speeds.
Retrieved from http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ipad-and-kindle-reading-speeds/
Subrahamnyam, K. Michikyan, M. et al. (2013)
Learning from Paper, Learning from Screens: Impact of Screen Reading and
Multitasking Conditions on Reading and Writing among College Students. International Journal of Cyber
Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 3(4), 1-27
No comments:
Post a Comment