Some people criticise eBooks for destroying the traditional paper book and they are obviously right. They are on course to diminish the number of traditional books that are sold in the future, but I for one don’t really see that as a bad thing. Besides the obvious lack of trees required to make an eBook (if you somehow overlook the number of trees required to make an eBook reader and to power the recharging process), eBook readers are more convenient to carry and the eBooks are often cheaper.
There is an advantage that rarely comes up, however, and that is how accessible eBooks make reading to children. Kids love their phone, games consoles and anything else that they can type ‘mega LOLs’ into. They are now so used to technology that screens and pixels are the most natural medium to read articles, play games and communicate with friends. It is only natural that they will want to read books this way as well and the idea of reading from that bendy stuff called paper verges on alien to many of them.
eBooks are cheap and if a child, thinking mainly of teenagers here, owns a smartphone, tablet or any other digital device it is likely that they will be able to read free titles or books that they are learning at school. The argument that eBooks are bad goes out the window if more children read because of eBooks. It’s the words that count, not what the words are printed on.
About Shaun McGill