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Which do you prefer: electronic readers or books?

Maria Cristina Gallegos's picture

Youthink! asked people on Facebook and Twitter to weigh in on whether they prefer e-readers to books.  See how students are benefiting from  e-readers in Africa .

Throughout the conversation people like Mattdan from Indonesia preferred e-readers:“…On the Sustainable development side, they indirectly save forest from the degradation and deforestation.” Jmaguial from Spain also agreed “They reduce paper waste!”And Bethold Mwesy from Tanzania added: “They are well equipped with up to date information compared to books.”

On the technical side, Prateet Baskota from Nepal says: “Yes, electronic books are better than books because we do not need to carry heavy book. We can zoom in and zoom out for each sentence. Wherever we are we can carry our IPAD or Phone or laptop and can see and read as we like, we can do direct print from Bluetooth and Wifi. So, I think Electronic Books is BEST. ”

Some people like Manas Panda from India were concerned: “They are becoming popular but their high cost prevents accessibility.” Jahan Haitch from Bangladesh added: “You can't demand such source in a country where people still have no minimum wage or any specific working hours.  And about education, we still buy the best books from Nilkhet.” Also, Manas Panda ‎ shared a concern from an existing e-reader project:  “India recently gave tablets named "Akash" meaning "Sky" to school students. The problem is especially in rural areas there's acute shortage of power.”

Others preferred books over e-readers. Sabrina Rivas from Dominican Republic said: “Nothing can replace books. The majority of e-books are in English and we can only find outdated versions.” Oscar Alberto Quintero Ocampo  from Colombia added: “I don’t think e-readers can replace books. Paper will prevail!”

Join the conversation on Facebook


Submitted by Anon on
I like paper books better than e-reader books. I do not have to look for a power outlet to recharge my book at night. One less lcd screen, the better. I like the feel of a book in my hand and the ability to have less distractions when reading a paper book to my children. If I have a e-reader, they will be trying to play the games or access the videos. Saving the trees can be good, but a paper book will "go back to nature" a lot faster than an e-reader. People throw away electronics a lot faster nowadays than ever before. People still keep books alot longer than a computer, handheld, tablet, e-reader or mp3 player\ipod.

Submitted by Karla on
I am also prefering the good ol' paper books, simply because shifting the pages and holding it, when being out in the mountains or anywhere else, is something that makes you immerse into another world. I am also up-to-date with the ebooks and their easily accesability, if you are abroad or want to learn new language. So cut the long short,I think that everything depends on the situation and country where we are. Removals Fulham