“Get off the screen and read some books!”

We have all heard that phrase before. They tell us to get off the screen after spending so much time on it, therefore, they tell us to go read books instead. But will that change? Will people instead exit out of the internet or game and swipe to iBooks or an app filled with books, without having to exit the physical screen itself? Is it better?

How does it affect us? A lot of us like to read before we sleep. It helps us become sleepy and fall down on the pillow without having to look at the ceiling and think about the long day ahead of us. But that might change if we switch to digital books. A study in the Guardian says people take a longer time to sleep, about 10 minutes, when reading through an Ebook than a book. It makes us sleep later and make us less sleepy. So it wouldn’t affect our sleeping time if we stay with physical books.

What does the world think? People think E-books are good in some ways. They say it is cheaper to buy than having to buy $700 to $900 textbooks. People can simply download it than having to go and buy the book or get the book off the shelf. And it’s easier to search for things by simply doing some fancy ctrl command. But, according to the New York Times and the Huffington Post, people still want nice smelling, bulky books. The reasons why is because technology is a bad way to concentrate. If you look at the screen for too long, it will strain your eyes. And wanting to check out the the funniest thing every five minutes, or even five seconds, is also bad. “Karl Marx was a German philosopher who…” “HA HA HA, look at that face swap!” “Communism was used by many people like Stalin…” “Look at that pun, it’s so bad, it’s good!” Soon, time will fly by and you didn’t do anything productive.

How does it affect the environment? It is obvious that books use trees, but what about E-books? The Washington Post says E-books are made of Earth metals that are not only rare but also highly toxic. And the energy needed to run servers and cooling fans is a lot. That’s bad for the environment. It is seen that the things needed to make E-books are non renewable while paper books are renewable.

Personally, I believe paper books are actually better than E-books. But, if you really don’t want move from your seat and yet want read a book. Go ahead on E-books. Just remember there are effects to everything.