Thanks for sharing both interesting thoughts and an interesting article. I remember discussing the differences between e-readers and books when I was at uni and the notion of ebooks was still very new. it great to that there is now a substantial body of research into the differences in reading behaviour and the reading experience.
In addition to there being cognitive differences in how we read on paper versus on screen, there is also proof that there are differences in writing on paper versus typing on a device. In both cases, the non-digital method seems to be more beneficial to what the task is, possibly because it uses similar parts of the brain. We comprehend what we read better, and we write better / more creatively. We may not realize it, but using digital devices requires additional effort from our brains, whether it's remembering where the right key is or that we need to scroll to view more content. There are benefits to unplugging! :)
I think it's the beginning of the actual discussion. Our lives and actions are more and more digital and it just needs to have an influence of our real (and virtual) life. I think that the discussion will be raised quite often and may be really heated one, especially when anti-digital movements will be set up by unplugged individuals :-) (because they surely will arose) But I do agree that there and pros and cons of both, modern and traditional approaches.
My brain works in an alternative way than described by Maven.
I had much difficulty reading and writing in school, I got distracted easily.
It wasn't till a few months ago, did I put the kindle app on a smartphone that was
also a new thing to me, that I found I can read for hours, and finish whole books.
I found that on my Galaxy y that I can enlarge the print size so big that no more than 2 sentences fit onto the screen, my eyes don't get distracted by all the extra words all around the words I'm reading at the moment. And they don't get tired, like when I try to read from a book, or from someone's handwriting. I boy do I love having google spell check watch everything I write, I became a horrible speller after I took two years of Spanish in high school. I look forward to finding a killer app that converts speech to text so I can just dictate to my phone my shopping list so I don't have to write anymore. :-)
Thank your for sharing :) Great to hear that tech really works for you :) It's much individualized issue, each of us requires different solution which is great as there's nothing worse than everyone being the same.
I've got things from both ends of the spectrum here. My daughter in her teens has grown up with technology and has access to most of it. But the one gadget she just isn't interested in is an ereader. Now, she reads 100+ novels a year and her bookshelves are bursting the seams but she just LOVES to read in paper and won't entertain getting a kindle. My son in his early 20's has every piece of equipment going and is a real gadget freak but he too prefers to read in paper. His novels tend to be doorstop sized 1000+ page hings but he still won't consider an ereader.
My husband on the other hand, is of an age when gadgets and gizmos were non existant while growing up and were only just taking off as he headed into adulthood. He's of the opinion that you don't miss what you've never had. He has only just recently succumbed to the wonders of mobile phones. He's dyslexic though and really struggles when trying to read on paper for pleasure. He says the effort involved takes away the enjoyment. I gave him my paperwhite to try out a few months ago when a book he wanted to read was only on kindle and he hasn't put it down since. He reads most nights now and is loving it. The paperwhite has really opened doors for him.
My mum and dad who were around in the war years and for whom technology is all new have embraced their ereaders with open arms. They can't really get to grips with putting the books on themselves so I help them with that but it's so wonderful to hear them get so enthusiastic about what they're readers can do. They keep saying it's like magic! Hehehe. They tell me which book they'd like and within 60 seconds it's downloaded and they're reading it. They think it's just wonderful! And it is :)
Personally? I'm in the generation where my childhood was gadget free. I was dead set against an ereader when they first came out as I just didn't think I'd get the same experience as I do with paper. The feel, the smell, even the look of it... but after getting one as a gift I'm a convert! I fought it for so long but now I find I'm reading at least double the amount I used to read....and I used to read a LOT!
From my experience with my family it seems to be that my children who grew up with gadgets would rather go Old Skool when it comes to books. My husband and I who were getting into adulthood when technology took off were a bit resistant to them but now really enjoy them, and my parents who have little to no experience of them have welcomed them with open arms from the start and think they're magical.
Really interesting topic. Sorry I wrote a novel length reply :D
Thank you for your story. I must say your insights are very interesting and inspiring to make my own observations in my family :) The generation gap seems to be going into different direction ;-)
I had much difficulty reading and writing in school, I got distracted easily.
It wasn't till a few months ago, did I put the kindle app on a smartphone that was
also a new thing to me, that I found I can read for hours, and finish whole books.
I found that on my Galaxy y that I can enlarge the print size so big that no more than 2 sentences fit onto the screen, my eyes don't get distracted by all the extra words all around the words I'm reading at the moment. And they don't get tired, like when I try to read from a book, or from someone's handwriting. I boy do I love having google spell check watch everything I write, I became a horrible speller after I took two years of Spanish in high school. I look forward to finding a killer app that converts speech to text so I can just dictate to my phone my shopping list so I don't have to write anymore. :-)
My husband on the other hand, is of an age when gadgets and gizmos were non existant while growing up and were only just taking off as he headed into adulthood. He's of the opinion that you don't miss what you've never had. He has only just recently succumbed to the wonders of mobile phones. He's dyslexic though and really struggles when trying to read on paper for pleasure. He says the effort involved takes away the enjoyment. I gave him my paperwhite to try out a few months ago when a book he wanted to read was only on kindle and he hasn't put it down since. He reads most nights now and is loving it. The paperwhite has really opened doors for him.
My mum and dad who were around in the war years and for whom technology is all new have embraced their ereaders with open arms. They can't really get to grips with putting the books on themselves so I help them with that but it's so wonderful to hear them get so enthusiastic about what they're readers can do. They keep saying it's like magic! Hehehe. They tell me which book they'd like and within 60 seconds it's downloaded and they're reading it. They think it's just wonderful! And it is :)
Personally? I'm in the generation where my childhood was gadget free. I was dead set against an ereader when they first came out as I just didn't think I'd get the same experience as I do with paper. The feel, the smell, even the look of it... but after getting one as a gift I'm a convert! I fought it for so long but now I find I'm reading at least double the amount I used to read....and I used to read a LOT!
From my experience with my family it seems to be that my children who grew up with gadgets would rather go Old Skool when it comes to books. My husband and I who were getting into adulthood when technology took off were a bit resistant to them but now really enjoy them, and my parents who have little to no experience of them have welcomed them with open arms from the start and think they're magical.
Really interesting topic. Sorry I wrote a novel length reply :D