Online reading has been growing more popular each year. This trend has sparked a debate between online reading and traditional reading. For anyone who hasn’t picked a side yet, we are going to help you make your mind!
What is Online Reading?
Online reading is when you take information or text from a digital format. It is also called digital reading. PDF files, EBooks, audiobooks, blogs, etc. are all considered to be online reading, whether it’s through a PC or a phone. There are many advantages of online reading which include:
Advantages of Online Reading
1. It’s Fast Paced
In today’s quick world, online reading makes it easy to look for books. You don’t need to plan a whole trip to the bookstore to stock up on your books. You can simply download your book. Even if you’re busy with work, you can save the book on a click!
2. It is More Versatile
Generally, if you download a book, it would be on your phone. And you take your phone everywhere. It doesn’t get easier than that. You can highlight important lines through the tools available on your laptop or even learn meanings of difficult words through the internet just in one click.
3. Easy To Understand
Sometimes while reading you get stuck on a word or a phrase you don’t really understand. Or sometimes you miss a point and get confused. Online reading provides the readers with hyperlinks which provides ease to the reader and reduces the chances of any confusion.
Disadvantages of Online Reading
Unfortunately nothing in the world comes with only advantages. There are certain disadvantages to online reading which include:
1. Attention is Diverted
While reading a book your eyes and mind are focused on the words and read them in the sequence they’re written. But while reading something online, your eyes keep wandering around the screen and you often skip over parts and details of the book.
2. Needs Power
It doesn’t matter if you read on your PC, phone or kindle, anything electronic will run out of power and you’ll need to charge it which can be annoying at times.
3. Loss of Details
Since you can’t give your full attention to the content on the screen, you’re more likely to loss information and details or wouldn’t be able to understand the ongoing situation in the book.
What Is Traditional Reading?
The process of getting information or text from a print format is called traditional reading. Reading books, magazines, newspapers, dictionaries, etc. is all considered to be traditional reading. Traditional readers find it hard to adap to newer ways of Online Reading. Book collectors and people who regularly visit traditional libraries also stick to their habits of reading printed books.
Advantages of Traditional Reading
1. Linear Reading
When you’re reading something that is in your hand, it grasps your full attention and you read it in the sequence that it’s written. This gives you a better understanding of the book.
2. Does Not Need Power
You don’t need any power or charging for print formats. So if you’re reading the plot twist of the book and are gripped with suspense, you won’t have to worry about the battery dying.
3. Satisfaction
The satisfying feeling of buying your book, holding it, reading it, understanding it, sympathizing with the characters, going through the suspense and then finally finishing it can never be digitalized.
Disadvantages of Traditional Reading
1. Time Consuming
Reading something physically requires at least a few hours to finish and sadly you can’t really multitask while reading either. It requires your full attention and time which is hard to give in today’s fast world.
2. Less Versatile
Books come in all sizes but mostly they aren’t small enough to carry around in a pocket. Carrying huge volumes of books can cause an inconvenience.
3. Take Up Space
Books usually take up a lot of space and can get damages if kept in an unfavourable environment.
Overview
Research shows that kids prefer reading online as it gives them more privacy. It also allows them to access more material online, reading in the dark and multitask.
But on the other hand, it has also impacted their patience. Children are getting more and more impatient. Online Reading has also decreased their attention span, since there are more distractions online than in reality. Online Reading has increased the number of eyestrains being caused by digital devices. Also, rather than reading from beginning to end, online readers increase their ability to skim through the pages and just search for keywords and phrases.
Traditional reading on the other hand encourages readers to do a more in-depth analysis. Research shows that since reading online makes us want to avoid long material and read just enough to understand.
So here was a list of advantages and disadvantages of both mediums. To be honest, both of them are already established in our daily lives to an extent. Both of them have certain advantages which the other doesn’t so it’s not an either or question, it more about how can we use both of them to the fullest to get the best out of them!
So head on to meraqissa and choose an eBook or order a printed copy today to vote for the medium you prefer!
