With the introduction of e-books many years ago, many have questioned whether books will remain as popular among teenagers as they once were. According to some people, e-books are more practical than normal books: they are easy to carry, multiple books can be downloaded at once, and they don’t take up storage space.
But do teenagers prefer e-books over normal, paper books?
After carrying out a survey amongst a group of 14 and 15 years old at Gumley House Convent School, books proved to be more popular: 89% of those surveyed preferred normal books over e-books. The majority of those who were surveyed stated that they disliked e-books as they didn’t like spending too much time looking at a screen. Those who preferred e-books added that they are easy to use and are usually cheaper than buying multiple books.
Julia Bahadrian, a keen reader who prefers e-books, and a student at Gumley House Convent School, stated that: “E-books are a really effective and portable method, they’re cheaper than the physical copy and can be altered in terms of fonts and size. However, it is also nice to have a physical paper book once in a while.”
Another student who enjoys reading, Freya Lovric-Kemp, added that “Nothing beats the feeling of the smell of a new book.”
While those results portray the results of only some teenager’s thoughts, the total consumer e-book sales are thought to have dropped to their lowest level since 2011 in the United Kingdom. This shows that e-books are decreasing in popularity, not only within younger generations, but among the overall population.
With many teenagers preferring to read physical copies of books rather than e-books, and consumer sales of e-books decreasing, the popularity of books amongst the youth may continue to rise over the upcoming years.
Klaudia Karcz, Gumley House Convent School
