As what comes with almost everything in the world, even e-books have their pros and cons. Reading e-books have become a trend as of the 21st century and people are reading more and more e-books compared to physical books. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Well, as mentioned earlier, it has both pros and cons. I’m here to explain a little about that. Even the best thing you like, like sweets, have their cons. So don’t be surprised by the cons of e-books. Similar to sweets, too much can be damaging to you. Thus, I bring to you the pros and cons of using e-books:
Pro: Save The Earth
E-books are solely based online. You can download them, save them and transfer them to other devices as well. Thus, this means that there is no use of paper involved in publishing or obtaining e-books. Reducing the use of paper helps significantly reduce our carbon footprint and brings us a step away from global warming. Global warming can be caused by deforestation and the release of more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Thus, by reducing the usage of paper and the disposal of paper with switching to e-books, we can both reduce environmental issues like the greenhouse effect or environmental pollution.
Con: No True Satisfaction
As all book lovers know, there is a certain satisfaction when you get a book and first open it. The crisp pages, the fresh book smell and simply flipping through a new book with care. There is an unexplainable joy in doing so. Especially when it comes to a good book. There is simply no way any other thing that can bring more joy to a book lover. Even though recent technology has made it possible for us to seem like we’re digitally flipping pages, you’re not actually flipping pages. You’re not feeling the crisp paper against your fingers, instead, you’re feeling a cold glass screen.
Pro: Can Read Anywhere At Anytime
While you can read books in the sun, e-books can be read in the sun, in the dark, and anywhere at all. You would not have to be carrying a heavy book around with you. Plus, most of us read at night when we have free time so, it’s sort of inconvenient to have our lights on at night. With e-books, since they’re on your devices, you can simply lower the brightness of your device, as to not hurt your eyes, and read in at night or generally in the dark.
Con: Staring At A Screen For Long Hours At A Time
Following the previous paragraph, there are downsides to being able to read on your devices. Because of the glaring of the sun, it is a little hard for us to read under the sunlight. Moreover, when we start at screens for too long, just focusing on the words closely, we could actually develop short eyesight. Short eyesight is when you’re able to see nearby but things get a little blurry when they’re far away. Thus, your eyesight has sort of decreased in quality a little bit. Try to avoid reading in the dark or dim area, even with normal books.
Pro: Save Money
Since e-books don’t need much to be published, we don’t have to spend much to buy either. This matters especially when you’re a student who needs textbooks. Purchasing standard textbooks, particularly college textbooks, is extremely expensive unless you can get secondhand ones. If there were a large number of students eager to sell their used books, this would not be a significant issue. In truth, few people want to part with their previously used textbooks. Particularly those who scribble notes in their books. They’d want to save them, either for future reference or just to remember them from when they were in school. But nonetheless, for newer students with no textbooks, it is best to make them accessible as e-books so that they do not have to spend so much money on books they’ll use only once. Plus, if you’re a person who publishes e-books, you’d make more money than you spent anyway.
Con: You Could Lose Files
If you forgot to back up your files on any other storage file or cloud backup and accidentally lose or destroy your existing e-books, it’s not really a big problem. Because you can always buy a new copy for cheap, this is a minor setback in hindsight. You could also misplace paper books anyway and you’d have to buy a new one at the same expensive price. So this is not really a con but it is a possible disadvantage.
Pro: Video And Audio
There are a lot of platforms where people can publish their e-books and where people and access them. Nowadays, there are some e-books that even come with video interpretations or even audio readings. There is this one platform that has been around and is quite famous called, Audible. It’s a website where you can listen to famous books or any other book you wanted to read but did not have the time for. This allows you to experience the content of the book without reading it yourself which is perfect for those who love a good story but are too lazy to read. Plus, you could listen to these audios while you do your everyday house chores.
Con: You need Batteries Or Battery Power
Since they are electronic books, hence e-book, you would definitely need batteries for your device. If you’re using a phone or tablet, you would definitely need to have them charged before enjoying your e-book. This is because it is quite dangerous to use your phone while it’s charging. Thus, avoid any mishaps and charge your phone before using it to read, listen to or view your e-books.
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In a nutshell, almost everything you do would have pros and cons, right? So You would just need to weigh out the good and the bad then make your decision. Follow your heart and I’m sure you would choose what brings joy and what is more convenient to you.