The debate over whether physical books or electronic versions of books are better has been going on for a very long time. People will always like printed books and ebooks (eBooks). With the number of tech-savvy people growing, every service provider is digitizing their services to serve this large group of digital users.
Comparing the two, you’d see that while printed hardcover books are beloved for their authenticity and the experience of holding an actual book in your hands, eBooks are more functional and do far better regarding portability. Let’s look at some of the ways that eBooks are better than traditional printed books.
Advantages
Table of Contents
PORTABILITY — Multiple Books in One Device
eBooks are easy to carry around because they are small and light. One eBook reader can hold thousands of eBooks, so you don’t have to carry many heavy books. It takes up less room at home and in your bag, and no one needs to worry about how much space they can use.
You can read as many books as you want on a single device. The most significant benefit is that students don’t have to carry around a bag of readers daily. It lets the user store many books on the device, way more than anyone could ever read in their lifetime.
ACCESSIBILITY — Carry Everywhere
Downloading and storing an eBook for use at a later time is an option, and one can easily transport the eBook and read it whenever it is most convenient for them. Students and workers can go through the instructional content in their own homes or even while on the go, and it is helpful for people who are constantly on the move.
Some electronic readers come equipped with a feature known as offline accessibility, which enables users to use the device even when they do not have access to the internet.
Instead of ordering printed books or buying them from the store, which wastes time better spent either waiting for the books to be delivered or traveling to the store, readers can readily access any eBook whenever they want and from anywhere in the world.
SHAREABILITY — Share your Books
It is possible to share the contents of the eBook with many people. The social features of ebooks make it easy to share and like content—something that is not available with traditional printed books.
A paper book can only be given to one person at a time, whereas an eBook can be given to multiple individuals. This function is available for use by employees and students to facilitate collaborative projects.
DIVERSITY — Explore Genres
Exploring your literary tastes requires an open mind regarding the kind of books you’re willing to read and the authors’ approaches to crafting their stories.
Ebooks might not have the exact title you’re looking for, but they will lead you to a list of titles with similar genres or plots. The majority of internet book discoveries are works we haven’t heard of before, but they turn out to have intriguing stories.
If you are a reader who enjoys taking risks and experiencing new things, you will be pleased to know that the ebook format offers various novels that can take you to multiple styles.
VISUAL — Optical Effects
Most modern e-readers allow you to customize the screen’s brightness based on the time of day and your tastes, making it ideal for use in various settings.
Many eReaders also allow you to read in the dark, with lighting that won’t bother you or anyone else. The user can customize the text’s font, and it’s up to them to decide how big or small to make the typeface. Put, reading an eBook is suitable for your eyes.
PAPERLESS — Environment Friendly
eBooks are environment-friendly, and it ultimately gets rid of the need to print on paper, which saves money for the publishers. Every year, about 3 million trees are used to publish about 2.2 million books.
If these paper books were replaced with digital eBooks, all those trees wouldn’t have to be cut down. In addition to cutting down trees, transporting raw materials, the production process in the mill, and the final shipping all add to the carbon footprint.
Disadvantages
Downloadable eBooks have numerous benefits, but they also have some drawbacks. If you are on the fence about joining the eBook revolution, I have outlined several potential pros and cons for your consideration.
VISUAL — Optical Effects
You might have seen this same factor in the advantage section. However, we cannot deny that reading electronically often may cause eye problems. Aside from eye strain, prolonged screen time has been linked to an increased risk of headaches.
CYBERCRIME — Beware of Malware
When looking through titles or giving information in exchange for a download, people who read ebooks need to be careful. These days, we can never be sure if even something as simple and low-tech as an ebook is full of hackers waiting for someone to download a particular ebook so they can get into their device.
DIGITALIZATION — Not Hardbound
This might not be very clear to some since we have mentioned earlier that digital books are an advantage since it is paperless and environmentally friendly. However, from a reader’s perspective, the complete feeling of satisfaction might not be there, especially if you are a reader and a book collector at the same time.
PIRACY — Illegal Downloading
People who say they “sell” ebooks for a specific price or who share illegal copies of ebooks, some of which haven’t been made public by the author or licensed to be published online, are breaking the law. Even though it’s fun to be able to download thousands of free books, it’s important to remember that even ebooks need to be treated with care and respect.
