Print books are better than E-books

I have always loved books. As a little girl, I loved having stories read to me. The colorful pictures on the page mesmerized me. The sound of a turning page calmed me. Eventually, I got old enough to read chapter books on my own. Now, I do it as much as possible. I even fell in love with the library. Then, something called e-books came out. E-books are terrible reading devices, and we should keep books (for entertainment) and technology separate. Print books are greatly superior to e-books.





The first reason that print books are better is because staring at screens cause eye strain. A study conducted by National Center for Biotechnology Information showed that out of 500 people being surveyed, a whopping 89% of them reported tired eyes when no screen filter was used, 53.3% reported having a headache, and 54.8% reported a burning eye sensation. This shows that over half of the people surveyed reported eye problems after looking at a screen in all categories. When you are reading an e-book, all you do is continually stare at a screen for long periods of time, multiple times a day. This is all in addition to the screen time and damage we are exposed to on an everyday basis. Other things that come into play with this is blue light and the fact that many people read before they go to sleep. If you were to read a print book beside a lamp, this would not be a problem. However, screens project something called blue light, which makes it significantly harder for you to fall asleep. This then damages your over-all night’s sleep. According to an article on Science Daily, based on research done at the University of Haifa, it only takes a mere 16 minutes of screen time (on average) to affect your sleep. That means reading an e-book less than 20 minutes before bed will impact your sleep, along with damaging your eyes.





The second reason books are better is that print books hold sentimental value that e-books can not compare to. It is much easier to have emotions tied to a physical object as compared to minuet pixels on a tiny screen. Books are passed down through generations. Religious passages are all kept in print books. Could you picture your religious text, or any religious text, held only on a tablet? Books also sentimental value because they are incredibly important to history. 100 years ago and earlier they did not have the technology for record-keeping, or for entertainment such as reading. Everything was held in books, print books. How could something that worked so well for so long not be a good thing anymore, just because e-books exist now? Print books also hold sentimental value in the sensory sensations associated with having a physical book. The soothing sound of a turning page, to the satisfaction of reading the last word on the final page of a print book, the smell of a book- these are all things that you can only get from a print book. That also makes print books significantly better.





Some may say that e-books are more convenient, as they take up less space. However, print books truly are more convenient. It is true that e-books take up less space, however, e-books are still technology. Let us suppose that you are using a tablet. A tablet is the same size as a book if you are taking it ‘on the go’. You also have to charge that tablet. If your tablet runs out of battery and you don’t have a charger, you are out of luck. Wi-Fi is also needed to support said e-book apps unless you have it downloaded on your tablet. One more thing that is a problem is that you can not read in direct sunlight off of an e-reader. The glare from the sun makes it impossible to see the words. None of these problems exist when you are reading a print book.





Print books carry not only stories made of ink. They carry stories made of memories. Print books also prevent serious health problems that e-books introduce. From a better night’s sleep to an emotional connection, physical books will always be the best way to read. Print books are significantly superior to e-books. Therefore, I ask you to head to Barns & Noble or any other book store, and purchase a physical, print book rather than purchasing an e-book online.