Well, it’s been a little while since I have been a child.
Computer were just getting popular and being used good when I was a freshmen or
sophomore in high school so you can imagine that there were no Nooks, Kindles,
smartphone of any of those thing to read on. There were physical books that we
as children at that time really enjoyed reading. Going to the library to get a
book was not only rewarding because we were able to check a book but we were
able to get read to and see the pictures and just enjoy up close and personal
feeling. Children today want to read books on tablets, phones, computers and e-readers.
It is difficult to get children to day to get excited about a physical book or
even to go to the library unless there is some type of technology is involved.
My 12 year old granddaughter will read a physical book because that is what I
have read to her and encouraged her to read. She complains when we are on the
road or out of town and I tell her to download books so she will have something
to read. She enjoys the reading and feel of the physical book even though she
has a tablet, smartphone and iPod. Now my grandson on the other hand he five
and if is given a choice to use his leap frog reader or a physical book his
choice will be the electronic device. I have brain washed him to think that you
can only read a physical book at the library so when he and I make our visit to
the library that is what we read. It’s not as common to catch a child or an
adult with their nose in a book, it more catching them with their nose in an
electronic gadget.
With me saying all that what is the future for reading,
books or publishing. I still say that they all still have a bright future even
20 years from now. Yes, there will be electronic devices that going to read to
use and for us. Yes the more popular thing will be the electronic device. But reading will be forever, it will never
die and the same for books. Physical books will never go away for whatever
reason. All people will have some reason why they prefer a physical book over
some kind of electronic device. Some will prefer both as I do but books.
Depending on my time, place or activity will determine how I read my book. If
it will be on a device or a physical copy. Reader will remain readers and
produce readers always. No matter what form the book is in reading will be essential
to our well-being and still enjoyed by dedicated readers. Publishers might save
on a little paper and ink but I think that they will do just as well if not
better because their publishing will expand. They will be publishing both
electronic/digital and print.
I agree that kids are often more likely to be caught with an electronic tablet than a book these days. But I think that's because they're mimicking their parents and peers. You model certain behavior for your grandson, so he thinks a certain way about books. If people spend more time with electronic devices, then the kids who spend time around them are going to want to do the same. I got the shock of a lifetime when, one day last summer at a Symphony on the Prairie show, this boy of about 10 years old sat down with his parents, hauled his backpack onto his lap, and pulled out not an iPad, not a Kindle, but a BOOK. It bewildered me (and brought a smile to my face, honestly). I'm guessing his parents expose him much more to print books than an iPad/other device, and so he likes to spend his time reading print books. I think that as long as adults are still modeling print-book-reading behavior, kids will still grow up imitating that. And that means print books, as you said, will never go away.
ReplyDeleteI agree because as the saying goes "you can't miss what you have never had" My grandson has had a taste of both worlds and he enjoys both depending on his setting.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara. Kids do model their parents (it still amazes me to watch toddlers playing on tablets, and amuses me when they sit down at computers that don't have touch screens and get really confused when they touch the screens and nothing happens). However, I see a lot of kids coming in and out of the children's and teen departments at our library and a lot of them are still reading physical books. I think it separates them from their schoolwork, which is increasingly being done on computers. For a good chunk of them, I think computer/tablet/device = work (and networking) and print book = relaxation. Millennials like myself seem to be like that too - most friends my age read mostly print books, while more baby-boomer aged people are reading a mix. It's not exactly hard evidence, but I get the feeling that e-books may not be as popular with the younger set as we sometimes think they are.
ReplyDeleteLovely post. It has been a while since I was a kid too. The internet only became popular when I was out of high school. There is a positive hypnotism & positive brainwashing when advocating a real book or reading in general. I agree, publishing is expanding...
ReplyDeleteI love that you have taught your grandchildren to read physical books and that your granddaughter prefers reading a physical book. I think more children need to be shown the joys reading a physical book. In a conversation I had the other day about a woman’s 10 year old stepdaughter having her own smart phone she brought up the point about the damage all of the electronics could do to their eyesight at an early age. That is one of the reasons I am not a fan of electronic books is after being on a computer all day for work and school a physical book is the option I want. I too believe that books will certainly still be around in 20 years or so but I do not know to what degree they will exist. Hopefully children for many years to come will be able to discover the joy of books like you are teaching your grandchildren today.
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