According to a famous study by Statista’s Advertising and Media Outlook, e-book sales continue to lag behind paper book sales worldwide. This case was especially noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study found that in the U.S., where e-books are generally viral, they are in demand by only 22.7% of the population. On the other hand, paper books were preferred by 44.5%, which, as we can see, is almost double.
An interesting situation is observed in China, where the number of sales of electronic books may soon equal the number of paper books. In 2020, 24.4% of residents preferred e-books, and 32% gave preference to paper books.
Residents of the European countries also prefer paper books. For example, 58% of people bought such books in Germany, and electronic books have only 10.4%. A similar ratio is found in France with 52.1% and 7.5%, respectively.
How Does Reading Paper and E-Books Affect Our Memory and Productivity?
Despite all the advantages of digital sources of information, there is more and more evidence that our brain prefers analog media in the last few years.
According to the study “The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking,” psychologists from Princeton University and the University of California say that it’s much easier to remember an important thing by writing it down by hand. According to psychotherapist and journalism expert Maud Purcell, the reason for this may be that writing stimulates the reticular activating system (RAS) – an area of the human brain, which filters and brings clarity to much of the information we focus on.
It has been found that absorbing information from the paper helps retain it better in memory and increase productivity. Anne Mangen, a professor at Stavanger University’s Reading Center in Norway, conducted a study where she gave participants the same 28-page detective story – some on paper, some on a Kindle e-reader. Afterward, they were asked a series of questions about the text.
The results showed that people who read the story from paper books gave more correct answers to time and chronology questions than those who read the Kindle version. And when the participants were asked to place the 14 events in the right order, those who read the paper book gave the best results.
Participants in another study called “Metacognitive regulation of text learning: on screen versus on paper” had the perception that they comprehend information better when they read from screens of electronic devices. Because of this, they consumed text much faster than those who read from paper, and they thought they would perform better on a text quiz. But in the end, not only did traditional format devotees win in terms of text comprehension, but they also had better-predicted results.
You Don’t Have to Read Everything from Paper
The situation with books is clear, but does the brain accommodate information just as well when reading newspapers, magazines, and other physical media? Not at all.
Length does seem to be the main problem, but many other text parameters like structure and layout are closely related to it. In other words, the complexity and density of information can impact the importance of the text source.
Sometimes for certain types of text or literary genres, such as overly captivating books, the source plays almost no role, whereas, for other genres, such as cognitively and emotionally complex novels, the source can be important for understanding and experiencing the book. But this remains to be tested empirically.
You don’t have to reach the print button when you receive the email or message unless it’s as long as a novel. Reading short messages from the screen can hardly hinder comprehension and memorization of the text.
Digital and Print Information Can Coexist Peacefully
Printed information is not appropriate in all cases for understanding and remembering information, just as it is with digital information. It is important to remember that all technology and media have their own user interfaces, so in some cases, a paper user interface may be better for memorizing and absorbing complex information than an electronic device. But in other cases, such as when showing presentations containing audiovisual materials, a device such as a tablet or a projector will be more helpful. There is no one-size-fits-all solution; it all depends on a number of content-related factors such as the purpose of reading, the situation, or the reader.
Don’t Rush While Reading E-Books
If you can’t give up e-books, it doesn’t mean all is lost for you; most likely, you think you’re absorbing information faster than you actually do, which is why you read books more quickly. The simple solution is to slow down and pay more attention to analyzing the material. It will help you comprehend information just as well as you do while reading paper sources.
