As people increasingly move to the digital world for various aspects of their lives — school, work, hobbies — physical books are among the tools that have flipped the page and become readily available online.
Many people prefer the tangible appeal of physical books, while others see reading online as an easy way to unwind.
“I prefer reading physical books over online. I like the satisfaction of turning the pages and seeing how far into the book I have gotten,” said Kylie Friese, a sophomore majoring in nursing.
Online reading provides a wider range of accessibility to different books and literary works; however, focus can be difficult to maintain for some people due to the complexities of technology such as notifications or screen sizes.
“Books on my phone take longer to read than an actual book,” said Monique Gaither, a freshman majoring in business management. “I’m less attentive on my phone, mainly because I can just swipe out and go onto a different app. Reading books allows me to detox from my phone.”
Short-form reading, such as poems, news articles and short stories, can usually be finished in one sitting, while long-form reading, on the other hand, includes novels and other readings that take multiple sessions to complete.
“I do know there’s a lot of chatter out there about how online is kind of getting people to read shorter things, and that long-form reading isn’t a thing anymore. People are more conditioned to read shorter blurbs, shorter articles,” said Deborah Keene, associate director of the Blount Scholars Program.
For students, online reading can help with productivity and finances, allowing students to study conveniently without carrying around books.
“Google Books also brags that it has more than 10 million books available to download for free, including textbooks and government documents as well as literary classics,” Linda McMaken wrote in an article for Investopedia.
“For textbooks, I prefer them on my phone because it makes them more accessible than a paper copy,” Gaither said.
Though online reading can be more accessible, for some, it causes eye strain. According to the Glaucoma Foundation, reading on a small screen can stress eye muscles, causing blurry vision and headaches.
“It hurts my eyes to try and read on my phone,” said Sydney Spanyer, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering. “I think it takes me longer to read a book online versus a physical book.”
Friese also said that reading books on a screen makes it harder for her to focus on the text compared to reading from a physical copy.
With so many things becoming accessible online, there is already a decline in the sales of physical reading material, with the average global printbook revenue declining by 1.67% annually since 2017.
“You can get almost any book on earth without leaving your room if it’s electronic. I don’t see how it gets any more accessible than that,” Keene said.
