Reading in the Digital Age By: Michelle Buttigieg FILM 240; Queen's University Winter 2017

1. Image - Unsplash Steven Spassov
By: Michelle Buttigieg
Reading in the Digital Age

2. Image - Unsplash Josh Applegate
Have digital advances made reading - an old,
traditional activity - newly transactional?

3. Studies in favour of traditional books show:
Image - Unsplash Patrick Tomasso

4. E-Books disrupt our reading comprehension
Image - Unsplash Lacie Slezak

5. Image - Unsplash Helloquence
People approach computers and tablets with a
state of mind that is less conducive to learning
than in one they bring to paper.

6. The interactive
multimedia
experience of an
e-book can be
distracting to
children, as they
will see reading
as more of a
game.
Image - Unsplash Jordan Bauer

7. Image - Unsplash Robyn Budlender
E-Books muddle our chronological recognition

8. Image - Unplash Marie Vusiatytska
“When you read on paper, you can sense with
your fingers a pile of pages on the left growing,
and shrinking on the right... You have a tactile
sense of progress... Perhaps this somehow aids
the reader, providing more fixity and solidity to
their sense of unfolding and progress of the
text, and hence, the story" Anne Mangen.

9. E-Readers drain our mental resources
Image - Unsplash Tom Sodoge

10. C - Unsplash Hernan Sanchez
Research shows that LED screens at night can
disrupt our sleep patterns.

11. Image - Unsplash Daniel Gzz
However, we must consider that this is the
digital age

12. The price of textbooks have increased almost
4-times the rate of inflation, since 1978.
Image - Unsplash Glen Noble

13. Image - Unsplash William Ivan
Young people appreciate how E-Readers are
compatible with frequently used electronic
devices, like smartphones and iPads

14. Image - Unsplash freestocks.org
Individuals with poor eyesight or reading disorders
like dyslexia can change the text size and spacing
of lines, improving their reading experience

15. E-Books are allowing publishers and
booksellers to embrace big data
Image - Unsplash Markus Spiske

16. Image - Unsplash Clem Onojeghuo
The reader's journey is now illustrated through
analytics, recording not only how many people
buy the book, but how intensely they read them

17. Image - Unsplash Nick Hiller
This will pinpoint the areas when readers
become disinterested

18. Image - Unsplash Olu Eletu
Publishers can add videos and web links to
digital editions to improve the reader's
experience

19. “People expect books to look, feel, and even smell a
certain way; when they do not, reading sometimes
becomes less enjoyable, or even unpleasant.” - Ferris Jabr
Image - Unsplash Lou Levit

20. Image - Unsplash James Tarbotten
“For others, the convenience of a slim, portable
e-reader outweighs any attachment they might
have to the feel of paper books.” - Ferris Jabr

21. Image - Unsplash Bino Storyteller
Do these digital advances make reading
transactional?

22. Image - Unsplash Maliha Mannan
Or do they improve the user experience?

23. You decide.
Image - Unsplash Gaelle Marcel

24. SOURCES:
Alter, A. (2012, Jun 29). FRIDAY JOURNAL --- your E-book is reading you. Wall Street Journal Retrieved from https://search-proquest-
com.proxy.queensu.ca/docview/1022551817?accountid=6180
Ferro, Shaunacy. (2016). 5 Reasons Physical Books Might Be Better Than E-Books. Mental Floss. Retrieved from: http://mentalfloss.com/
article/69380/5-reasons-physical-books-might-be-better-e-books
Garber, Megan. (2015, Jun 24). The Rise of "Speed-Listening". The Atlantic. Retrieved from: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/
2015/06/the-rise-of-speed-listening/396740/
Jabr, Ferris. (2013, Apr 11). Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens. Scientific American. Retrieved from: https://
www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/
Kraft, Amy. (2015, Dec 14). Books vs. e-books: The science behind the best way to read. CBC News. Retrieved from: http://
www.cbsnews.com/news/kindle-nook-e-reader-books-the-best-way-to-read/
Senack, Ethan. (2015, Nov 12). eTextbooks vs Open Textbooks: The Student Lens. The Huffinton Post. Retrieved from: http://
www.huffingtonpost.com/ethan-senack/etextbooks-vs-open-textbo_b_8547630.html