There was an article in the New York Times yesterday morning which was quite thought provoking. We discussed it in my Book Publishing course. The professor gave us a few book recommendations regarding the phenomenon that is occurring, and then he challenged us to keep track of all our use of technology and all the time we spend reading things in print for the course of a week. I have a hunch I know what will come out on top, and I'm not happy about it. But starting today I'm keeping track and we'll see how things go.
In regards to the article, though, I wonder how e-reading will affect education and the way children learn. It's a fascinating trend to watch in regards to media and the publishing world and what consumers are buying, but I haven't found a lot of discussion (yet) on how it affects child reading habits and attitudes. Some of it will be good, I think, as they are attracted to digital media, especially the idea of interactive reading. Oh, and this idea was so intriguing as well. But technology changes the way we think and learn and develop, and it might not be a good thing. I don't know yet; I have to do some reading.
If you're interested, the books suggested by my professor were Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf, Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age by Sven Birkerts, and The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr.
I read the article! That would make for such a good discussion in class I think! I definately read more on the computer than on paper now that I work in front of a computer researching most of the day--it makes me relieved to read something on paper (not so much strain on the eyes). It will be interesting the age of technology that our children will grow up in.
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