As book stores grow rarer the printed word seems to be disappearing. So looking towards a brave new future, how much access will we and our children have to books? Are e-books the new environmentally friendly replacement? The easiest stats to find are for America, apparently a surprisingly large number of people there own e-readers. In 2014 32% of Americans had an e-reader. 42% had tablets that could be used as e-readers. Some smart phones can also be used as e-readers, and of course laptops can be used as well. But despite the availability of e-readers only 28% of Americans 18 years or older will read an e-book this year (see http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/01/16/e-reading-rises-as-device-ownership-jumps/ ).
There seems to have been a massive investment in reading devices, or e-reading capable devices, but where are the readers? Are we falling short in ensuring that our children read? Are tablets only used for games, on-line television and u-tube? Or are people slowly preparing for a change to an unfamiliar new world. Apparently many of those who bought e-reading devices were still reading printed books.
I don't know, it's all a bit hard really. Maybe many others feel this way. But hey, kids are faster than adults at adopting new technology, so even if you're still hooked on paper books, don't forget your kids when it comes to encouraging their reading. You've made the capital investment, e-books are a very small step in terms of cost. Maybe they could do with a few e-books as well as all those computer and tablet games. If you've bought an e-reader and you haven't yet started using it yourself, lend it to your ten year old. Oh, and buy the Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, while you're at it.
There seems to have been a massive investment in reading devices, or e-reading capable devices, but where are the readers? Are we falling short in ensuring that our children read? Are tablets only used for games, on-line television and u-tube? Or are people slowly preparing for a change to an unfamiliar new world. Apparently many of those who bought e-reading devices were still reading printed books.
I don't know, it's all a bit hard really. Maybe many others feel this way. But hey, kids are faster than adults at adopting new technology, so even if you're still hooked on paper books, don't forget your kids when it comes to encouraging their reading. You've made the capital investment, e-books are a very small step in terms of cost. Maybe they could do with a few e-books as well as all those computer and tablet games. If you've bought an e-reader and you haven't yet started using it yourself, lend it to your ten year old. Oh, and buy the Fairly Stillwart Chronicles, while you're at it.
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