Most arguments against ebooks are superficial
The biggest reason I hear people use for resisting ebooks is that they like real books. They like the feel of a real book when the hold it. They like turning the pages of a real book. They even like the smell of a real book.
All those reasons are very superficial.
Ebooks, just like printed books, are only the medium that the content reaches us. The story and characters do not change if you read a novel in ebook format as opposed to print. The only difference is that you’re reading on a screen rather than paper.
I’ll admit, I love the printed book as much as everyone else. I have a large collection of books that I just can’t seem to get rid of – including a small collection of autographed copies. I still buy print books and I still read them, I’m just not going to reject ebooks simply because they are not in printed format.
When I bought my Sony Reader back in 2007, it took some getting used to. There is a certain novelty to reading ebooks that can be distracting. That novelty quickly wears off though. Before I even finished reading my first book on my Sony Reader, I had forgotten I was reading an ebook because I was so absorbed in the novel.
I think that these superficial reason people use to resist ebooks will start to fade, especially as the technology improves and the prices of e-readers goes down. As the popular Star Trek quote goes: Resistance is futile.
Ebooks are a huge threat to future generations and the printed word. As ebooks gain in popularity, traditional book sales will begin to decline. After awhile, publishing companies won’t produce as many traditional books, because there won’t be a high demand for them anymore and it’s cheaper to release digital content. Real books will start to become scarce and expensive. Before you know it, the total sum of man’s knowledge will be committed to the fragility of a computer network. The knowledge, truth and wisdom contained in those files will only be as viable as the electricity that powers them and the servers that store them. Not to mention, the integrity of the people who control them.
In the event of some global disaster, or at the flick of a switch, access to those files could be revoked or denied. Governments could restrict what they don’t want you to read at the push of a button, and some books could even disappear completely. The potential for this reality would make Hitler’s book burnings seem like a picnic.
Books are eternal. Books are prolific. If someone destroys them, there are others to take their place, on the bookshelves and within the homes of millions of people, spread across hundreds of nations, passed down from one generation to the next. You can’t destroy them all.
The same cannot be said for ebooks, however. With ebooks, you need not destroy them to make them disappear, they could simply fade away all by themselves. Why? because you were seduced by the novelty and convenience of a new technology, and you wanted to save a few dollars. Beware of the impact this seemingly positive change might have. If, one day, my predictions come true, don’t forget this fact… I told you so.
You call people’s reasons for enjoying a traditional book “superficial”. Would you also call having sex with a human being vs. sex with a blow-up doll “superficial?” How about wanting to play a sport vs. simply watching one on T.V.? would you call the reasons for wanting those things superficial too? The point is, it’s not the same. It’s a poor facsimile. There is an emotional and tactile connection when turning through the pages of a real book. There is weight. There is permanence. There is reliability.
What about the wonderful smell of cured ink on aged paper, or the fresh pulpy scent of a new novel straight from the printing house? These little details are the essence of something that contributes towards making reading such an enjoyable experience, for so many people. The prospect of ebooks replacing regular books has such far reaching implications that you couldn’t even begin to imagine.
Ebooks are only as good as the battery that powers them, and we all know how quickly technology becomes obsolete. Do you plan to buy a new ebook reader every few years? What about proprietary software and compatibility issues? What about a single publisher or manufacturer gaining a monopoly, controlling where you get your books from, and how you read them?
Believe me, there are many good reasons to stay away from ebooks and they go way beyond what you would consider “superficial.” The cons against ebooks are simply more complicated, far reaching and difficult to articulate (or sometimes prove) in comparison to pros, which are more obvious, simplistic and immediate.
This is why you don’t hear about the cons very often, because people don’t think about them enough! They don’t think about the possibility of negative long-lasting repercussions. People stop thinking when they hear that they might save some money, it’s more convenient, or that they get a flashy new piece of technology to play with.
People need to start thinking more critically and realistically about what this technology could mean for the future, especially in the politically charged, tumultuous world we live in, where knowledge, information and the ideologies spawned from books, are everything.