There always has been a debate on whether the physical books are best or digital ones - the eBooks, kindle, and audiobooks. With everything being digitized the physical books too find many takers. There are pros and cons to each, let's try to delve into what suits the best and when.
Physical books - The touch, the feel, and the smell of the books attract most of the book lovers to physical books, but there is more to it.
In today's fast-paced world, where everyone is looking for digital detox and all the leadership and spiritual gurus are suggesting to switch off, do we want to add on a new habit that adds on to the distractions?
Physical books are meant for deep reading. You go into the meditative state of focus and analysis when you read a physical book. They are designed for slow processing, with larger pages, no links, and concentrated singular lines of thought. The effect is slowness and patience.
Physical books help in -
Comprehension - In a study researchers found that students who read on iPads had lower reading comprehension than when they read traditional printed books. They discovered that the kids sometimes skipped text in favor of interactive features in the e-books, suggesting that certain multimedia in children’s e-books can be detrimental to the practice of reading itself.
Spatial development -The stationary text is an advantage in its own right, but it has the added benefit of serving spatial memory. A great deal of our memory and comprehension in reading involves visual-spatial memory. We can find quotes, or remember lines, or retrace a course of thought on the basis of where those words were on the page. Location in a text can help us remember things about the text, but it won’t help you remember where you put your glasses.
Cognitive mapping - Books are three dimensional physical objects with length, width, height, weight, texture, and smell. They carry information in a physical way, enabling you, the reader, to create a mental map of their stories and ideas. Our minds gravitate towards physical illustrations, mnemonic devices, and memory cues when we try to formulate a comprehensive understanding of something. Books work well for this since they have all the same verbal cues to aid your memory and understanding, but they also have physical cues to help you too
Motor development and Bonding - The flip and turning of pages helps the little ones develop their motor skills. The parent-child bonding when they read and cuddle and flip the pages together is the cherry on the cake. This happens when you are totally focused on the story at hand and is not possible with eBooks.
eBooks are hard on the eyes, at least when read from tablets, phones, or conventional computer screens. Regular books don’t cause the eye strain that eBooks do. Some E-Readers have
eBooks are designed for speed with skimming, scrolling, and linking. They are a quick read or may be re-read something that you want to refresh.
eBooks are easier to carry, lightweight, and maybe also cheaper but we have libraries so you don't actually buy books.
Perhaps, these are also the reasons why the schools still have textbooks for children in the physical form.
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