In the modern digitalized world, reading habit is an emerging trend. From online book archives to e-books and kindles, digitalization has changed the face of literature.
In today’s world, reading habit is an emerging trend. Technology has changed our reading habits drastically. Want to know how? Read this article to find out.
We are all aware of the importance of reading and have heard about it since our childhood days. There are several advantages of reading, some of them being:
- No matter how much stressed you might be due to your relationship, work, or anything else, it all vanishes once you get lost in a good story.
- Anything and everything you read fills your brain with new information. Even if it may be of no use to you at present, you never know it may come handy in the future.
- We all now having a useful vocabulary is helpful in any field. The more one reads, the more words one is aware of, and gradually, the words are eventually part of our everyday vocabulary.
- When we read a book, we have to remember all the minute details of it. If its a story, we need to remember the plot, the characters, their backgrounds as well as other things that weave the story till the end. We do not realize it, but we remember a fair amount of things each time we read a story, and indeed, it sharpens our memory.
- In today’s world, our attention is caught in hundreds of directions in a small duration of time since we belong to the multi-tasking generation. At times, this can cause our stress levels to rise. Reading books help us get away from the stressed world, and when we get absorbed in a book, we feel calm and relaxed.
- Reading not only helps us develop our communication skills and vocabulary, but also helps us understand our environment better.
Also, read – Reasons Why People Must-Read Books.
Before the advent of e-books, a majority of people, especially children, had given up on their reading habits. The rate of reading good books had significantly dropped, and it was hard to convince children to read books when they had the pleasure of playing with gadgets.
However, now when digital libraries have come into play, e-books have gained a lot of attention, and reading habit is an emerging trend, especially in the case of youth.
7 Wonderful Ways How Technology has Changed Our Reading Habits
1. Digital Revolution
Thousands of years back, when the printing press did not exist, getting access to historical recordings, scrolls, books, and other sources to obtain information was considered no less than a luxury. Those were the times when books were copied by hands which took pains, and then those books were often lost in disasters, wars, or simply because they were neglected.
With the invention of the printing press, books could be reproduced quickly, and with that, people’s reading habits transformed. You could just visit a library and read a book according to your taste and preference.
A few years back, we experienced another such revolution. The internet, tablets, smartphones, and e-reading apps have once again reshaped our reading habits as the printing press did, and it can be said that reading habit is an emerging trend now.
2. Obtaining Information
Due to the advancing digital technology, the way we obtain information now as compared to earlier times has wholly changed. The times when we use to search entire shelves of the library to find that one book which we longed to read is gone.
We now have access to hundreds and thousands of free sources to get any piece of information we like, that too on a single click. Compared to a library that may or may not have the books of our choice, using search engines to get to free resources or apps to read those books is a more efficient as well as practical method.
3. Modern Libraries
The way libraries are being used has also changed to a great extent. For example, instead of physically being present at a library and searching through dusty shelves for the book of your choice, you can now reserve the book online and later pick it up in person. This is not only as easy as it sounds but ends up saving a lot of time.
Some modern libraries offer their members to access and borrow e-books by gaining access to their database online. This poses a problem with the libraries that fail to adapt to the advancing technologies.
But undoubtedly, this transformation is one of the reasons why reading habit is an emerging trend.
4. Reading Habit in Classrooms
Technology has also changed the way students earlier read in classrooms. It has eliminated the traditional classroom activities of reading from school books and learning from the blackboard. Smartboards that are more practical have replaced chalkboards because of the ease with which virtual material is accessible. Many colleges have started offering undergraduate and Master’s programs online.
Instead of carrying their books, pen, and paper to study, students now carry the tablets that not just contain hundreds of books but also allow them to take class notes. Thus for many, books are becoming a thing of the past, and they prefer and rely totally on digital material.
5. E-reading Sites and Apps
Apart from the educational point of view, technology has also effected free reading activities. According to several types of research and surveys which have been conducted, the percentage of e-readers all over the world has grown to a great extent.
With e-books being famous all around the globe, many e-book reading apps and services have emerged in the past few years. Among those, some of the most used services include Scribd, Entitle, and the E-reader app. Scribd and Entitle provide subscription-based services, whereas one can access most of the famous best-selling novels for free on the E-reader app.
Know all about the e-reading apps that are being preferred the most.
6. Effects of Technology on Printed Books
With the change in our reading habits, we usually do not own physical copies of books as we have numerous different ways to read articles, books, or any other material. We also have so many gadgets to access the content, ranging from e-book readers like Kindle to smartphones and tablets.
However, there are many people out there who still prefer hard copies of books, and so there has been a minimal drop in printed books sale when compared to that of last year’s sales.
7. Influence of Social Media
Social media has helped a lot in improving the habit of readers. Time and again, social media has helped the right books reach the right audience. This is because reading is not limited to a particular author or a subject.
So, it depends on the readers to choose between e-books or the printed ones according to their preferences. Some people love the feeling of turning pages and reading a physical copy, whereas others prefer the ease of accessing digital copies of contents over a click.
What has been observed that the majority of people still prefer the printed version despite the e-reading becoming trendy? Reading habit is an emerging trend that is positive as people have once again started realizing the benefits of reading.
Some Quick Facts
- Printed books are still a popular medium despite digital devices coming into trend.
- Young adults are the ones to use e-books for reading more as compared to their seniors.
- There has been a 40 percent surge in the usage of audiobooks for the last four years.
- Children, especially teens, are reading very less as compared to adults who are an issue of concern.
For those of you who wish to pick up the habit of reading and wondering where to start with, here is a list of top 6 books for you to get going.
1. Malgudi Days- R.K. Narayan
This book comprises around 40 short stories, all of them based in a fictional town of Malgudi, somewhere in South India. The stories reveal the essence of human experiences.
2. Train to Pakistan- Khushwant Singh
It is a classic novel that describes the time when once Sikhs and Muslims lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then suddenly one summer, a train arrived with thousands of refugee bodies. It was the first time the villagers tasted the bitter civil war. The story depicts the eternal love between a Muslim girl and a Sikh guy that is beyond the hatred of war.
3. Harry Potter- J.K. Rowling
J.K. Rowling has created that magical world that has attracted people of all generations. Every kid wishes to receive an admission letter from Hogwarts. The story is full of wildly imaginative situations and exciting details.
4. The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
An international bestseller, The Alchemist, revolves around a shepherd boy Santiago who travels from Spain to an Egyptian desert in search of a treasure.
So, this was our take on ‘Reading Habit is an Emerging Trend.’
Thanks to the advent of digital devices, many people are now reading to research the topics of their interest and also to stay updated on the current events. What initially started as a journey to find worldly treasure turns into discovery to search for the treasures within.
What, according to you, is better- Printed books or e-books? Which of the options do you find more convenient and engaging?
Do you also feel that reading habit is an emerging trend? Let us know in the comments section.