The Choice Of Printed Books Over Digital Technology

There are many reading sources, such as books, magazines, newspapers, journals, periodicals, etc. These reading materials appear in our every day in our daily lives in two forms: either in print or digitally; both being substitute goods. Reading sources are used by all people, alike; The reason for the purchase of books stems from being used for schoolwork all the way to just being bought for the consumer’s own entertainment. Specifically, online books have gained more popularity online, partly due to the subscription services being available to consumers for purchase. There are many favorable opinions towards online books and newspapers, but purchasing and consuming books that are available in print, may have its benefits. Paper books should be produced and consumed over digital books for the two following reasons: the increasing sales in the printed book industry and providing health benefits and satisfaction.

The first reason printed books should be invested in more over electronic books is because of their recent increase in sales. Sales play a big part in whether products are worth buying to the consumer when making their decision, in the realm of economics. Books available in print have consistently been on the market for purchase for many decades, centuries even. The print books sales within the past few years have been outdoing the sales for digital books, suggesting that this mode of reading is preferred among consumers; specifically, this is noted through studies conducted for finding out the answer of what is favored between digital and paper books. Furthermore, a 2019 study done by the Pew Research Center, from January 8th to February 9th, concluded that print books are still the most popular format to read in. The majority of the participants in the survey still read in the mode of print at approximately 70% while those who preferred electronic books accounted over two times less of a percentage than the print book readers in the same period, according to the article, One-in-Five Americans Now Listen to Audiobooks. By having more people reading in print rather than electronically, this suggests that the sales and consumer behavior are in favor of print books over digital books. Examining the study by the Pew Research Center in more detail, by separating the citizens surveyed into different groups, the results previously mentioned still uphold. When looking at the results through gender, for example, the quantity of male participants that read books available in print to e-books was at 60% to 24%, respectively; similarly, the female participants followed the same trend with at 70% to 27% for print and e-books, respectively. The same trend happened for every other category, the individuals were split into (race, age, education, income, and developed environment). This study supports the fact that print book sales are trending in a positive direction, meaning that more people are reading printed books rather than electronic; if more people are reading printed books, then the sales of the books have to increase as well. Another example, to further substantiate this reasoning, is a study done at Bowling Green State University by Amy Fry; the study found that university libraries preferred to purchase print books titles over their electronic counterparts at 71%.

By purchasing more of one product, the sales will increase. In Figure 1, the graph is displaying the personal consumption expenditures for magazines, newspapers, books, and stationery, all materials obtainable in print, measured by dollars (in billions). The line is increasing for the majority of the graph, except for the time of the recession in 2008; however, more recently, the graph has a positive growth. The personal consumption expenditures graph measures how much exactly consumers are spending on a product. Examining at the graph in the scope of positive economics, the most recent measurement of personal consumption comes in around 95 billion, compared to the 80 billion in 2015. In this case, the spending on books has an increase, further supporting the first stated reason of this essay and the examples above, that the sales of printed books are increasing. Due to the preference of printed books, this allows the sales and demand to increase.

Another reason printed books should be read over digital books are the benefits and the satisfaction that can be achieved from reading in print. The advantages categorize from psychological health to overall health, all just from reading books in printed form. A lack of comprehension to the material trying to be studied by the consumer is one disadvantage of using e-books; searching is an option in e-books in order to get a quick answer. On the other hand, the material in print books must be read by the buyer to truly understand the content. Other disadvantages e-books provide are the distraction by the internet, email, and social media updates; also, volume is an option in electronic books and the problem with that is adjusting the volume frequently to satisfy the reader. Furthermore, e-books require swiping or sliding down to read the content. The content for print book needed are all on the same page. Annotations can take place in printed books and not digital books, and the same goes for the ability to share the book to other online. While e-books allow the consumer to read in the dark, this advantage comes with a cost. The light emitted from the e-book can cause eye strain. In fact, 83.3% of the participants in the study titled, College Student’s Perceptions Towards E-Books Usage In EFL Learning, eye-strain from electronic sources for research. According to the University of Michigan Medicine’s article, Story Time Better with Print Books Than E-Books, Study Suggests, concluded that children were better off reading printed books before bed as the light from the digital book would have an effect on sleep pattern; another point made in the article was that e-books had a psychological effect of inhibiting conversation engagement with others, due to the focus on the device, similar to phones. For the reasons of having minimal distractions, having regular sleep patterns, and increase in utility, people may prefer to purchase and consume printed books, supported by Figure 2. The graph looks at the value of manufacturers’ new orders for consumer goods and the value has increased, meaning the economy for that particular good is successful. This suggests that by having wanting better psychological and overall health that leads to enjoyment and increasing sales of printed books. These factors all play a role in the individual making the decision to use their money to purchase print over digital, acting in self-interest.

Through the lens of microeconomics, fulfillment of needs and expectations, better health and lifestyle, and the upward trend in selling are reasons for investing printed reading sources over electronic. Printed books represent people in many ways, especially the author, and can create an identity through the cover art to the content written on the pages, in addition to their history. With consumers thinking from the economic perspective, printed books provide encouraging results to the economy on a societal level to giving off enjoyment and satisfaction on an individual level.