The truth behind e-books vs print books
For the first time, major publishers have reported a decline in their e-book sales this year after enjoying impressive sales growth for years. This has introduced new uncertainties about the potential of electronic books in today’s publishing industry. A Penguin executive reportedly recently admitted that the e-book hype may have led to unwise investment, as the publisher lost confidence in “the power of the word on the page.”
Despite the growing realization that print and digital can co-exist in the marketplace, the question remains whether the e-book will “kill” the print book. Whether the intention is to predict or rule out this possibility, the book’s potential demise cannot be overlooked. Nor can you override what the imagination says about it.
So why is this idea so powerful? Why do we ignore the evidence of peaceful coexistence between the electronic book and the printed book and speak as if both disagree?
The answers to these questions go beyond the realm of digital books and reveal a lot about the cocktail of fear and excitement we feel about change. Our research speaks to how the concept of one medium “killing” another has often been a harbinger of new technologies.
Long before the advent of digital technologies, experts had predicted the death of contemporary media. For example, when television was invented, most thought that radio would die. However, radio found new ways of survival and today people listen to it on the go and at work.
The curious case of the missing book is a myth, albeit an old one. In 1894, speculation abounded that the introduction of the phonograph, the modern audiobook, would mean the end of the world for books.
History repeats itself many times. Movies, radio, television, hyperlinks and smartphones – all were accused of conspiring to “kill” the printed book as a “source of culture and entertainment”.
It is no coincidence, then, that every time a technological breakthrough occurs, the idea arises that the book will die. This narrative perfectly highlights the mix of fears and hopes that characterize our reactions to technological change.
So why are these reactions so common? To understand this, it is necessary to consider the emotional ties we create with the media and how it becomes an integral part of our lives. Multiple studies have shown how people foster a close relationship with everyday objects like books, computers, and televisions.
We even humanize them, like naming our cars or yelling at our laptops when they refuse to work normally. It is evident from this behavior that the advent of new technology, such as electronic readers, not only indicates an economic and social change in society, but also makes us align our relationship with things that have become an integral part of our daily life.
Guess what happens next. We find ourselves longing for things we had but no longer have. This is the sole reason behind the flourishing industries built around retro products and older technologies. For example, when the printing press became prevalent in fifteenth-century Europe, many sought out the original manuscripts.
Similarly, the shift from silent to sound films in the 1920s sparked a nostalgia for the older film format. The same thing happened with the change from analog to digital photography, from vinyl to CD, from black and white to color televisions. Unsurprisingly, e-readers sparked a new appreciation for the material quality of “old books,” including the unpleasant odor that was often disliked.
If you are still worried about printed books disappearing from the surface of the earth, rest assured that printed books have spearheaded many waves of technological revolution and are capable of surviving this one as well.
That said, the myth of the disappearing medium will continue to entertain with an amusing story about the transformative power of technology and man’s aversion to change. In fact, to understand the concept of change, we use the “narrative patterns” that are available and familiar, for example, death and ending narratives. The story of the disappearance of the media, which is easy to remember and share, reflects our enthusiasm for the future and our fear of losing parts of our intimate world and, eventually, ourselves.
