Friday, May 5, 2017

Print Books vs. Digital

Lauren Orheim
Mr. Reuter
Economics B1
2 May 2017
As technology develops and becomes more popular, people are starting to worry about the fate of traditional print books. Will too many prefer the easily accessible ebooks that books no longer have to be printed? Although books use paper, which could be harmful for the environment, reading physical copies rather than on a phone or tablet has good effects for both the economy and your brain.
Teachers aren’t crazy when they say that reading is good for you. Books of all kinds stimulate your brain, except printed and ebooks weren’t created equal. According to an article by Maddie Crum about why print books are better, a 2012 study “gave half its participants a story on paper, and the other half the same story on screen. The result? iPad readers didn’t feel that the story was as immersive, and therefore weren’t able to connect with it on an emotional level. Further, those who read on paper were much more capable of placing the story’s events in chronological order.” Connecting to characters on an emotional level is practice for working well with others: an important part of improving the economy and life skills in general. Additionally, by immersing oneself in a book, it is easier to enjoy reading and can spark creativity with both writing and other art forms. Creativity and literacy are both important for the economy because without a literate workforce, it would be harder to get work done, and without a creative workforce, we would be without innovation.
This graph accurately depicts the pros and cons to each book type. However, the pros that come along with ebooks books don’t seem to be as important. Most people are able to get a book quickly just by checking it out from the local library or purchasing it from a bookstore, while reading with a child and sharing books with others is much more beneficial. Reading at a young age promotes a greater imagination and yearning for learning. Investing in a child’s future sets them up for success, and a better economy.  
Overall, printed books have more benefits for the economy than ebooks. The next time you read, go to a bookstore and pick up a new book, or go to the library and check one out. The economy and your brain will thank you.


Works Cited
Crum, Maddie. "Sorry, Ebooks. These 9 Studies Show Why Print Is Better." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
"Top 5 Advantages Print Books Have Over E-Books." The Clarion Ledger. N.p., 23 Sept. 2015.
Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
Yarow, Jay. "CHART OF THE DAY: The Death Of Printed Books." Business Insider. Business
Insider, 05 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-e-books-versus-print-books-2012-4>.

9 comments:

  1. As someone who is an avid reader, it's nice to know that I'm doing the economy a favor when I pick up a book. Being able to be literate is something that has been ingrained into our daily regimen since birth. And now, because the majority of high schoolers are reading, we are almost guaranteed a job. Which, coincidentally, happens to be another vital part of our economy.

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  2. It's interesting to see research that backs up the benefits of books over ebooks. From personal experience I feel the same way ebook readers did compared to when I read a real book it's easier to feel immersed in the story. Although there are specific benefits to each book type, I think that reading in general, regardless of the form, is beneficial.

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  3. Even though print books help the economy, when looking at print vs ebook sales, ebooks rise way above print. So in a way, ebooks are also helping our economy with their total sales. Since ebooks are more readily available to many people, buying them online and reading them right away allows for more books to be bought in a shorter amount of time.
    In our world today, people want things NOW. They want it in their hands soon as they click the “purchase” button. Sadly, print books just don’t give many people this satisfaction. I too agree that print books are better and that it is sad to see them being overtaken by ebooks, but the way that our economy is changing and how people are changing just isn’t what it used to be.

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  4. However, even though books help the economy many people have still bough ebooks to read. Plus Ebooks are easier to read on places like the beach or a boat unlike a book.

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  5. Most people find that reading ebooks or just simply listening to books to be more convenient. Although being a reader myself I prefer to read a paper copy of the book. Many people find the ebooks more appealing due to them being easily accessible and the technology now allows people to read them a lot easier than the paper copy. Instead of driving all the way to the local library are going to the nearest book store. Some people may see this as spending more money than is needed especially since so many copies of popular books can be found on the internet with a pdf file meaning there is no need to pay anything. Although no time soon do I think that paper copies will become extinct but their will be making less and less since companies that make them will not want to have a surplus so that they can make the most money possible.

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  6. From the studies you researched that show more learning happens when people read printed books, we can conclude that printed books also increase human capital which is a big boost to any economy. If people are learning more from printed books, those books are helping educate the population, and a more educated population increases production which helps any economy grow and be successful. So not only do printed books help people's health, but they help the economy as well.

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  7. I personally don't have a preference when it comes to printed books vs ebooks, since as you mentioned, both have their benefits. Obviously ebooks are more convenient, since they are more readily available and less bulky, but paper books are better for retaining knowledge - not to mention they're better for the economy. I don't think printed books will die out, since there are so many people who prefer the physical feel of a book. Plus, most schools and colleges still use paper textbooks, and we all know how expensive those can be. I do think that production of paper books will decrease as people switch to ebooks. Many are more willing to buy ebooks since they are generally cheaper and more convenient, and they don't have to worry about products being out of stock.

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  8. Even though reading a printed copy will help people learn by getting invested in reading easier therefore benefiting the economy, the opportunity cost is not worth it in my opinion. Now knowing this I agree we should have people read hard copies, as I also prefer hard copies, but as far as increasing the amount of trees cut to make more of those isn't worth the destruction. It would also help the economy by expanding our man-made civilization’s by taking as much land as possible, but the amount of environments and animals hurt isn’t worth it for most people. It's also very unlikely people will suddenly stop buying from online and instead go to the store or library, so the increased amount of trees cut could be for nothing. If reading hard copies would indefinitely increase our ability to learn and grow then it might be worth a try, but the number of people who would agree to this and read those from now on aren't going to be enough to make a big difference.

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