Will E-books or Audiobooks Replace Printed Books?

With the renovations in the 21st century, easier and new ways of consumption started to be seen in every part of life as well as literature. Some argue that those ways of consumption of literature, such as e-books or audiobooks, can be a substitution for printed books but they cannot be completely substituted for printed books because of the problems such as long screen times, eventual attention deficit, and the joy of reading and materialistic pleasures that any reader can face during the usage of these kinds of books.

 Firstly, while reading, either an e-book or a printed book, the time of reading must be considered because, eventually, reading from a book or a screen would end up having different effects on the reader’s body. Along with more serious effects in the long term, eye fatigue is the first problem to be caused by looking at a screen. While his situation cannot be limited to only e-books according to Dr. Kara Hartl’s statement in her article In Harvard Business Review “Is Too Much Screen Time Giving You Eye Fatigue?” Screens are 66% more likely to give the reader eye fatigue.

Secondly, the causes of distraction are more common on the platforms of e-books or audiobooks, such as smartphones or tablets. If a scenario needs to be created, it is very likely to receive notifications from any application while reading a book on the phone which will eventually distract the reader from the book.

When it comes to the materialistic pleasures and the joy of reading there is another conflict between e-books/audiobooks and printed books. Although it depends on the individual, the pleasure behind the solid books and pages still determines the choices of society. Moreover, research conducted at Trakya University suggests that when the target audience is asked the question “What are the reasons for not reading e-books?” the answer of “I like holding the book in my hands.” Is 65% more popular.

In conclusion, although e-books and audiobooks provide various conveniences to the reader thanks to technology, they will never be able to replace printed books since they cause physical problems and the materialist preferences of society.