Future of the printed books in the digital age (Term Paper Sample)

What is the future of the printed books in the digital age?
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For a long period of time, people have embraced the use of books for different purposes and in different walks of life. However, it is evident that the world is being swallowed up by the digital epoch. This means that the physical tangible books are gradually being displaced by soft copy materials. These are commonly known as e-books. New technologies have given rise to a variety of applications that make it possible for all written materials to be accessible on computers. However, this concept gives birth to different pondering questions. Is this development a bad, or a good thing? What will become of the ‘old fashion’ book as we know it? Book lovers can ruminate on such questions quite substantially. However, no matter how rhetorical these queries seem, they bring forth a wide narrative of possibilities
From a contemplative perspective, it is difficult to figure out whether there’s a certainty of the book becoming extinct. This also applies to all other forms of printed media. In my own opinion, everyone gets a craving of some emotional connection with a well-worn book. A book in hard copy provides the reader with a platform to physically associate with its unparalleled content. As a buff for books, I not only consider my favourite piece as a substance, it becomes more of a friend. There’s an inexplicable reason that makes a reader connect with a book’s weight, smell, or even its colour. The sight of a book on one’s home library also brings about a state of mental satisfaction. These types of gratifications cannot be achieved by simply staring at a computer screen for hours, regardless of the similarity in content.
The visual representation of a print media unimpeachably influences the reader’s interpretation of its content. Even the overlay of an inexpensive booklet can shape the impression of an onlooker. However, the same content on an e-book would not give the reader such perceptiveness. This concept depicts that digital media cannot serve as a complete displacement for tangible books. Inasmuch as e-books are convenient and easily accessible, they cannot satisfy the emotional needs of a reader. This means that books occupy a special place in the human domain – one that is not easily dismissible
The gradual change I readership towards the digital end is real, but that does not mean that printed books will be substituted entirely. The book is viewed as an artefact, and this creates strong historical touch with its owner. Something as little as an underlined sentence on the middle page or even old dog ears, mean something to a reader. Even an oil stain on the back cover can be linked to a session of memorable, significant reading. According Rosenberg, old books possess characteristics of aura, sensual qualities, and printing illustrations that electronic texts cannot portray. The tactility of a book is of equal importance to the relevance of its contents there-in. The collection of a family or personal library also creates an emotional dimension of adhesion to the reader. A computer note can replace a printed book, but it cannot recreate a similar sensory gratification
Indeed, every reader possesses feelings of ambivalence on what the digital era will do the print media. However, the paper book will prevail in its cultural dimension. Though it might lose its traditional value, its inimitable historic ...