The Superiority of Paper Books over Electronic Readers

Brigitta Melvina Winata

53798987

Nowadays, the use of electronic readers is becoming popular. The invention of electronic
readers has driven up many publishers to bring out their books in electronic formats. The
development of technology is the reason behind this phenomenon. Since then, the usage of paper
books for hundreds of years has been slowly replaced by the usage of electronic readers.
This phenomenon is statistically shown by the highly increasing number of e-readers sold
globally from 12 million in 2010 to 14.7 million in 2011 in the results of the International Data
Corporation Pew Research (E-Reader Statistics, 2012). The number of e-reader users also
increased 22 percent from 2011 to 2014 (Pew: More Americans Now Own E-Reader, Even as
Sales Growth Slows, 2014). Moreover, the Pew Research result showed that the number of
electronic reader users were 60 percent greater than the number of people who use laptops or cell
phones to access electronic books (Pew: More Americans Now Own E-Reader, Even as Sales
Growth Slows, 2014).
In contrast, the number of paperback sales keeps declining from 2010 to 2012. In fact, the
sales report of Associations of American Publishers has shown that electronic book sales grew
169.4 percent from 2010 to 2011, while the sales of paper book fell 24.8 percent (Wollman,
2011). Moreover, electronic book sales had surpassed paperback sales on Amazon (Indvik,
2012). Amazon gained a total revenue increment from its electronic book sales by of total
revenue by 28.1 percent, and a loss of 10.5 percent from its paperback sales.

Despite all the facts above, reading paper books are still preferable than reading on
electronic readers. This has been proven by Matthew Brady on his online polling. The result has
shown that 79 percent of people still chose reading printed books (Brady, 2013). Another survey
also has reported that 75 percent of American adults still prefer a traditional book over an
electronic book-reading device (Willington, 2013).
Both surveys have shown that most people still prefer reading a paper book over an
electronic book reading device. In fact, paper book is still better than electronic book reading
device in certain ways. Those different ways are the more environmentally friendly
manufacturing of a paper book, the comfort that it offers to people, and the higher degree of
focus that people will have. All the three reasons of paper book preference will be elaborated in
this essay.
Firstly, paper book manufacturing is more environmentally friendly than electronic
reader manufacturing. Starting from the materials required in the manufacturing process, an
electronic reader requires the extraction of 33 pounds of minerals and 79 gallons of water to
produce its components (Goleman & Norris, 2010). Meanwhile, a paper book only consumes
0.67 pounds of minerals and 2 gallons of water (Goleman & Norris, 2010). This means, paper
book manufacturing process consumes almost 50 times fewer minerals than an electronic reader
manufacturing. Besides, e-reader manufacturing process is energy-hungry. It uses 100 kilowatt
hours of fossil fuels, resulting in 66 pounds of carbon dioxide(Goleman & Norris, 2010).
Meanwhile, producing a paper book only requires two kilowatt hours of energy, and produces
100 times fewer greenhouse gases (Goleman & Norris, 2010).The facts above indicate that
producing one paper book is more environmentally friendly than producing an electronic reader,
since it consumes fewer natural resources.

Secondly, the comfort that a paper book offers is another crucial factor that makes it
better than reading through an electronic reader. Brianne Vandenberg, a student at Miami
University has confessed that she prefers paper books because they cause less eye strain (Mann,
2013). The comfort aspect of reading paper books is related to humans health. A study at the
State University of New York has proven that 90 percent of electronic reader users experienced
visual symptoms such as eyestrain, headaches, dry eye, and blurred vision after a prolonged use
of electronic readers (Chu, Rosenfield, Portello, Benzoni & Collier, 2010). This large percentage
shows that electronic readers affect humans health. Reading a paper book might also cause
eyestrain, but reading a hard copy is the most comfortable experience by giving the readers an
enjoyment of 4.3 out of 5 (Plnen, Jrvenp, &Hkkinen, 2012). This indicates that paper
books offer more enjoyment in terms of comfort and physical health.
Thirdly, the higher degree of focus that people will have is superior to paper books.
People tend to be more focus and read things effectively when they read paper books. Reading
paper books will enhance peoples concentration, since there will be less distractions. When
people use an electronic reader as a medium to read, there are too many distractions for them.
This has been proven in Johnson (2011)s study, when undergraduate students were asked about
the ratings of a digital book reader options. More than 70 percent of the students wanted devices
that allowed them to read email and browse the internet. Half of them wanted devices that could
make them able to watch videos and listen to music. In fact, this also applies to most adults. A
study by the Pew Research Centers and American Life Projects has proven that 80 percent of
internet users are from the range of 18 to 49 years old (Nanji, 2013). This implies that adults
would love to have an electronic reader that can have access to the internet too. When an

electronic reader has an ability to browse the internet, it will become a temptation for people
when they are reading.
Reading a paper book is more preferable than reading on an electronic reader in three
ways elaborated above. However, most people feel that reading on an electronic reader will cost
them cheaper than reading a paper book. The New York Times has proven this by giving out
Amazons average sales price of an electronic book and a paper book (Hoffelder, 2010). Paper
books will cost twice than electronic books. Moreover, people will only be required to buy an
electronic reader once. They can purchase a lot of electronic books to be downloaded on their
electronic reader. It is more practical. This has made people choose to read books on electronic
readers more than traditional books. Nevertheless, there is a refutation that could disprove that
result.
People can always resell their books to other people. It means that paper books can be
shared from generation to generation. Meanwhile, an electronic reader has a life span of 2 to 3
years old (How Long will The Battery Last?,n.d). Although an electronic reader can be resold
to other people, eventually people will need to buy a new one.
In conclusion, reading a printed textbook is better than reading on an electronic reader
because of several reasons. It is more environmentally friendly regarding to the manufacturing
processes; it leads the reader to have a more comfortable experience and to read in a more
controlled manner. The cost of the printed textbook is also manageable, since people are able to
share their books from generation to generation because books have no life span. Convincingly,
even though technology keeps developing, people should embrace and optimize the usage of

printed textbooks to save the earth, to have better physical health and to have better experience
of reading.

References
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