With the fast development in technology, e-books are becoming more common and easier to use. While paper books will always hold a special place in society for their historical value, there is no doubt that the advantages of electronic books outweigh their disadvantages.
One cannot deny the many advantages of e-books. The biggest one being that one can have over a hundred books at his/her disposal all on one device. If one doesn’t like the book they have started, he/she can easily change and start another book. Not only that but it is also easier to travel with an e-book. How many times in the past have you had to choose which 400-page book to stuff into your suitcase on your next trip. With e-books, you don’t have to make this choice, you can bring both of them. With the growth of technology, e-books have become lighter, more economical, and include sophisticated and helpful features like looking up the meaning of specific words or highlighting words in a text. This can be extremely useful for those who are reading for their studies.
Despite all of the advantages that e-books bring, most people have fond childhood memories of the time they received their first book. Many books, especially children’s books, contain beautiful pictures and the cover is always very dramatic, enticing the reader to pick it up. There is also a special feeling children have when they get to turn the page to hear what happens next. These are features which are lost in the digital age. Not only that but a paper book never run out of batteries. Nevertheless, there is one further advantage to e-books which cannot be overlooked. They help mitigate the damage to global warming since trees do not need to be chopped down in order to make e-books. This alone could be the most important reason to promote e-books.
In conclusion, paper books can give one a sense of nostalgia for one’s childhood and there is a kind of artistry to paper books that e-books just cannot replicate. However, the multiple practical uses of e-books and more importantly the positive impact that e-books have in reducing deforestation as the cutting down of trees is not involved, make the benefits far more than any disadvantages.