Memories
Nothing compares to text books
Childhood is a time not just to read, but to hold a book and look at colourful illustrations, 3D pop-up books while turning the pages and getting engrossed in between the imaginative lines. Keeping this in mind, it does matter how a child reads, and yes, printed books do make a difference in each child’s perspective.
Good reading behaviour is cultivated with proper focus and concentration when you read with a relaxed attitude. Ttherefore a paper book is preferred as children don’t have to strain their little eyes at devices. Young readers should experience what it feels to own a copy of a printed book and learn to treat it with respect.
If you feel electronic devices only increase access to books, then you need to understand that too many choices can spoil you or make you loose interest.
With regards to children, it is essential to limit screen time as it might seem mundane to them and as they grow up, reading might just become a regular chore for them to be bored.
The more choices you have to read online e-books, the easier it is to just scroll and read it mechanically, without giving yourself the time to imagine creativity or put words into pictures because you just want to finish reading so that you can move onto the next online book.
However, when you have a printed book in your hand, you tend to loose track of time while reading in between the lines, carefully and slowly. This is what children need to adapt as when they grow up as adults, they will look back at their childhood and have fond memories to treasure the joy of reading an actual paper book as opposed to a digital book.
By Ms Giselle Gerson
Homemaker based in Sharjah
Imagination
Libraries need to adapt to changing reading habits
The onslaught of electronic devices has distracted our reading regimen. Reading is an inward journey involving intimate conversations that the reader has with him or herself. Disconnecting from the buzz is imperative to revel in the stillness of reading. Scrolling through words, tapping forward pages and using the search function — digital books interrupt stillness.
Today, children are operating in environs of constant din and confusion and are in urgent need of stillness to become better thinkers. According to Henry David Thoreau, American poet and author: “...the man whose horse trots a mile in a minute does not carry the most important messages.”
Are digital natives really reading? Evidence from experiments indicate that digital readers comprehend far less than book readers. Digital books fail to recreate the tactile experiences of reading on paper.
The screen displays a single virtual page with no trace of what came before or after. Holding a book with the story in its entirety, allows the reader to flip back to better comprehend or flip forward to map out the story. An eight-cornered book with the enigmatic smell of lignin, peppered with personal scrawls and dog ears far beats an impersonal digital book. Scribbles on a page is akin to a selfie of the mind – years on, the reader can look back to trace his own evolution.
Libraries are irreplaceable as access gateways to books. Cost of electronic devices and lack of software support for outdated devices limit the ability of electronic devices to deliver access to books. However, I do agree that libraries must adapt to reflect the changing habits of readers.
Learning is most powerful through questions rather than answers. Printed books allow us the luxury of contemplation far more than digital books. The irreversible trajectory in reading might well head the digital way, but they will never replace printed books.
From Ms Veeksha Madhu
Student based in Dubai
Health hazard
Virtual reading is unhealthy
The 21st century has brought about a lot of developments, and ‘screens’ have undoubtedly achieved a major success in being a part of our day-to-day life. In fact, most of us are glued to these screens for most of the time that we’re awake.
Recent times have brought about a lot of controversies with regards to this issue, and it has become a cultural narrative that screens pull us away from “the good old habit of reading”. To this, youngsters often defend themselves with e-books, which add to their reading time. However, are these virtual books actually worth avoiding paper? Definitely not. Though many claim it to be an eco-friendly space saver, a majority of readers still prefer physical books.
Being born in a time with equal access to both physical and virtual reading, I always went for physical ones. This is because the feel one experiences when reading a paper book is prodigious. The kinesthetic feel of holding a book and turning its pages is something indescribable.
The turn of every page leaves its footprints deep within us. When holding a book, we have the pages that we have read in one hand, and in the other, how much of our journey is left-attributing to our visual modality. Also, the crisp scent of paper is one of a kind. All these magical sensations cannot be brought about, even by the most expensive tablets in store.
Virtual reading has always proved to be unhealthier, and causes a lot of strain to our eyes, making it dry. The blue light emitted by screens, lessens the production of melatonin by our body, which results in disrupted sleep, resulting in a reduction in efficiency.
With the current generation becoming increasingly screen-savvy, it’s high time we realise that we have crossed the limit to our negligence. So let’s all stand together to promote the habit of reading books among the youngsters, and make ourselves role models for them, just like our forefathers. After all, what’s a greater pleasure than relaxing on the couch with a good book?
From Ms Parvathi Sreeraj
Student based in Dubai
History
Reading: is it the forsaken art?
What is art to you? To some people art is anything unique, a sculpture, personal design, colour or details. Someone described it as “a representation of thoughts,” while another person described it as “basically anything that we look at twice.” I personally agree with all, and in addition to that — art to me is anything that came out of a creative mind, anything that makes me live in whatever I’m looking at, something that takes me into another world, a world in which whoever the artist is, wanted me to live in. Yes, art could be a painting, two eyes, a person, a thought, but it can also be words written from an idea or perhaps something that takes you into another dimension, that touches your soul. Writing is one of the most beautiful masterpieces of all time, and the only way to appreciate it is by reading.
Reading is about appreciation, whether it’s reading from a book or an electronic device. Yes, the excessive use of electronic devices is bad for us and we lead by example. If children see adults using electronic devices for everything, in turn, it will develop into a habit for these children as well. Reading is an important key to gaining knowledge and to develop your brain, therefore, if your child likes reading only because it’s from an electronic device, we shouldn’t stop them. However, what we can and need to do is to redirect them to paper books after a short while. By doing so, you will allow your child to read paper and digital books.
Nowadays, people would rather watch a movie than to read a book. The amount of people that are willing to read books are not increasing, which is very unfortunate because reading is such a beautiful thing that is now being abandoned by various generations. Books are being thrown out and forgotten. Books contain critical information that would have been lost if it was not written down. Books contain thoughts, people’s lives and stories that could make or break a man. Having a book is something powerful because it is a world created by a single soul, a pen and a thought.
Reading is reading, gaining information and knowledge is still beneficial whether it is from a screen or a printed paper. However, if you look at the long run — books are the only things that tell us what happened in the past, and these books have been our guides for many years and if we don’t pay attention to them now, one day we won’t have a history.
We will be forgotten because we forgot the only thing that was going to keep us alive after centuries. Writing is an art, reading is an art, and we shouldn’t forsake art, so we shouldn’t abandon books. However, keep in mind that we can’t stop people from appreciating art the way they please.
From Ms Nouf Esmail
Author and student based in Sharjah
— Compiled by Donia Yassinson/Community Web Editor
