Tag Archives: paper versus electronic

Summary of “From papyrus to pixels; the future of the book”

In the article “From papyrus to pixels; the future of the book”, the Economist gives input on how books have changed to electronic assets readers can now use. The essay suggests a vibrant future for the book. Now it is easy to access books online whether it is on your e-book or kindle, people don’t really need to buy a physical copy. People don’t have to carry their heavy books with them when they could just get access to the book on their iPads. Technology has definitely has advanced throughout the times. The purpose of e-book, it can be downloaded, uploaded, copied, pasted, etc. The Economist states, “Books like de officiis have not merely weathered history; they have helped shape it. The ability they offer to preserve, transmit and develop ideas was taken to another level by Gutenberg and his colleagues”. The digital transition may change the way books are written, sold, and read more than any development in their history,and that will not be everyone’s advantage. In conclusion, just because most people prefer digital over print, does not mean that people will stop buying printed books. No matter how technology progresses, printed books will still be used and continue to stay relevant. I believe that staying too long on your Ipads wouldn’t be good for your eye sight and digital people tend to read slower and are not able to retain what they read. You can flip the pages faster in printed books , while in digital books you have to scroll up and down and you aren’t able to stay focus.