Darya Foroohar, ‘20

April 2019

Ever since the internet has become ubiquitous in homes, workplaces, and schools, more and more information has been digitized, rendering many physical documents obsolete. One industry that has suffered greatly from this is that of publishing, as many manuscripts have been making the journey from print to kindle, nook, and other forms of e-book that can be found, sometimes for free, with internet access. Online reading has many benefits, to be sure. You can download thousands of pages on your laptop instead of lugging around textbooks, you can look up a novel on your iPad instead of trying to find it for hours in your local library, and you can often gain access to informational texts for free instead of emptying your pockets. In addition, some may argue that less books means less paper, and in the wake of studies informing us that we are on the verge of irreversible climate damage, this is a very appealing notion.

However, the death of books must not be encouraged as something that will spur our society into an age of efficiency, sustainability, and information. Firstly, the claim that e-books help the environment ignores the fact that the electricity needed to power said e-books also takes energy, and is a rather convenient way to excuse other environmental misdeeds. My point is, don’t accuse someone of hurting the environment when they read a book if you still also eat industrially-produced meat and forget to recycle. The waste of paper is a major issue, but do books (and for that matter, magazines and newspapers) really have to be the first to fall? 

Additionally, as many books can be found online for free, there will often be lowered prices of books in print, especially from community bookstores. Some will even be given away for free as these local establishments go out of business– ironic, given that they were supposed to be more expensive than their digital counterparts.

But really, it’s not reason that draws me to books, for human beings, while we are reasonable, are still susceptible to those flashes of emotion that can prove more influential than all the logic we may tell ourselves is what matters. And to me, books hold a certain power that is more comforting, more inviting, than a cold computer screen. This is not to say that I don’t spend hours staring at my laptop every day– I definitely do. However, while it is absorbing, it also messes up my sleep, makes my eyes hurt, and offers so many distractions that I don’t actually absorb what I’m reading. A book is just that– a book, with nothing else to take my mind off of the narrative. Whenever I read the newspaper or open a magazine, I become more relaxed as I flip through the (physical) pages and let my mind drift from the many tasks I need to complete for school, extracurriculars, or internships, many of them digitized.

This, I believe, is the true appeal of books: They have the ability to transport you away from the real world in a way that a screen cannot do. A book, because it cannot offer anything but its contents, can lift you away from any troubles you’re facing and allow you to slip away, if only for a little while. The pages, tangible in your hands, serve to remind you that even though the troubles you face may seem overwhelming, you don’t have to get lost in a viral rabbit hole; flipping through pages gives at least a small sense of control to someone who’s entire life seems to be on the internet. I’m not saying that print books are a cure-all, but they certainly possess a magic that has gotten lost with the advent of digitalization. Perhaps I’m romanticizing, but books are on the brink of death. I think they’re in need of some romanticization.