Print versus digital: Which is better?
This looks like a topic that will keep pundits employed for quite a while. Via Education Advisory Board, report concluded digital may be fine for short, to the point material, but print was better for longer, more complex material. One question not answered is whether those characteristics of digital and print were inherent in the medium or whether writers could adjust their writing styles to take advantage of digital media.
Let’s assume a couple of points:
The report’s conclusions are correct for now.
Points in the report:
- “…students said print is aesthetically more pleasing, that it gives them a sense of place in the text, strains their eyes less, and doesn’t encourage multitasking as much as digital texts do.”
- “…they enjoyed digital reading because it’s easier to read in the dark, saves paper, allows them to multitask, and makes it easier to find ‘quick information.'”
My experience:
- I didn’t sense difference between print and digital for materials with a strong narrative flow. Novels and biographies come to mind.
- I have found printed materials more useful for having a feel for the scope of the piece. Non-fiction like professional and academic books come to mind. It’s much easier to flip back to the table contents and other locations to have a feel where the particular section fits in the overall item.
- So far, print has it over digital for marginalia. While digital books like Amazon’s Kindle format make it possible to highlight, digital books don’t allow for marginalia. Some people like to sketch diagrams of what they read. I like to mark up the page so it looks more like an outline that helps me keep everything in context.
- Unrelated to the topic at hand but important to writers: print makes it possible for authors and readers to interact in a personal way. For example, authors are happy to autograph books for their readers.
In spite of it all, I have been making the switch to digital reading.
- I have moved a lot, and all those book boxes are heavy.
- Print requires much more shelf space. I’ve gotten rid of many, many books because I’ve had no room.
- I like having my library with me at all times. For example, I’ll read at the airport while waiting for my plane and also during the flight, and I can switch to another book easily if I want to.
How to replicate marginalia with digital books? When reading on a desktop computer or tablet, I open Microsoft OneNote and use it to outline, doodle, etc. OneNote has great organizing features that allow me to track with chapters and sections. If I’m reading a print book, I can even take a photo of an interesting page and save it in OneNote.