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Are e-readers better than printed books?
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E-readers enhance the reading experience

Reading digitally allows for personal customisation, which means one can tailor their reading setting so that it is the most comfortable for them. Moreover, thousands of books are available at the touch of a button, guaranteeing that the reader will never run out of books to read.

The Argument

An e-reader can be light in weight and heavy in content. Thousands of books can be crammed into a single device, allowing the reader to carry them anywhere any time, hence making it an ideal choice for traveling. Various features in an e-reader can make the reading experience more flexible, and accommodates any reading preferences readers may have. For example, text size, font, and the brightness of the page can be adjusted in most e-readers. Sometimes, even smaller details like the orientation of the page, the size of the margins and the way the pages are turned can be changed as well. As a result, e-readers can be personalised to accommodate the users' different tastes when it comes to reading[1]. Comparatively, the traditional printed book does not have such flexible features. Things like text size cannot be controlled and depend on the manufacturer of the book to make as reader-friendly for as many people as possible.

Counter arguments

E-readers function on the principle of quantity over quality. True, they hold on an average 2000-3000 books at a time, which can never be possible with physical books, the harmful effects of the electronic device overpower the positive. E-readers like kindle emit a blue light that has a harmful impact on the brain, making it difficult to fall asleep at night. Furthermore, studies show that prolonged viewing of electronic screens causes eye fatigue, headaches and an overall feeling of lethargy. Physical books do not cause any such problems, allowing the reader to immerse himself completely into the narrative of the story without any worry of any ill-effects on the body. Paperbacks provide the reader with an experience that involves almost all the senses of the human body. Nothing can compare to the feeling of flipping through a brand new book or burying your nose into an old one to just inhale the smell of nostalgia. The excitement when you have the entire book to get through and the bittersweet regret and joy of finishing the book is something unique to physical books and can never be replicated through e-readers.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] The experience of using an e-reader is highly customisable.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://kitaboo.com/top-10-advantages-of-ebooks-over-printed-books/
This page was last edited on Saturday, 4 Jul 2020 at 17:29 UTC

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