Radio 4: Word of Mouth - Print vs Ebooks

[ralphkern]

Quite a good Word of Mouth on Radio 4 today about the differences between Print vs digital.

The section on the changing reading habits of people towards 'Hyper-reading' versus 'Deep Reading' and that Kindle readers tend to read in faster, bite sized chunks versus settling down and spending a good couple of hours getting stuck into a paper book interesting.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06bnq18

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Kindle readers tend to read in faster, bite sized chunks versus settling down and spending a good couple of hours

Maybe people reading on a phone. But all all the people I know using actual eInk kindles (about 10) use them the same as paper books. I do know 3 people that use Kindle App on a phone. They often read short chunks, they may or may not read faster, but it takes them longer to finish a novel.

Small unrepresentative anecdotal sample, so feel free to ignore me.

All previous studies I have read failed to differentiate between dedicated eInk readers and people using an eReader app on an LCD or AMOLED phone, tablet, laptop etc.

Thanks, I can listen on the Radio next Monday at 11pm. Or the MP3, unusually the Beeb let me download the entire mp3 of the program.

These people
Nielsen Norman Group

Evidence-Based User Experience Research, Training, and Consulting
http://www.nngroup.com
Don't make that mistake. They regard dedicated eInk Readers, phones and more regular sized screens as different reading experiences and also regard dedicated eInk Readers as hugely better than LCD/AMOLED etc conventional screens for reading, though they thought the earlier eInk screens not high enough resolution for good reading experience (the 2015 Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Aura H2O or Aura HD are high enough resolution). More resolution and size doesn't solve the issues of tablets / Netbooks / Laptops, especially with the common shiny screens.

I've been following NNG newsletters for nearly nearly 15 years. Gurus on Usability, User Experience (UX) and GUI (Graphical User Interfaces).

 

[Ogma]

I read books generally quicker on my phone. I find it generally quicker because I always have my phone! I can fit in reading at any free moment. I've read long books on the phone (800-1200 pages) no problem. Sad to say picking up a paper book has nearly become a chore.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Yes, that was an interesting bit of radio. It doesn't surprise me that 'deep reading' is vanishing.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

It doesn't surprise me that 'deep reading' is vanishing.

But is it, per head of population, or is it a flawed study? Is more due to TV & Cinema and Web pages than eBooks?

 

[Stephen Palmer]

I think it is a genuine thing - character vs. personality, as mentioned elsewhere. Having worked in education for a long time, I've noticed it in young people. However, I do think its accurate to say that the appearance of ultra-visual media (internet, etc etc) is responsible for a certain shift in how we take things in.

 

[MWagner]

I'm by no means a digital native, but I find the way I consume information has changed in the last 10 or 15 years, and fractured my attention span. Unless I'm on vacation at the beach or something, I find it very tough to just sit and read for a couple solid hours these days. If I'm at home or I have access to the internet, I'm browsing and scanning and flitting between this and that. I find it tough to even sit through a whole movie at home without turning on my iPad. And I finish books less frequently than I used to.

 

[Michael Coorlim]

I find that I'm too busy working to spend much time reading at all these days.

 

[tinkerdan]

I just finished a marathon read of paper books; but currently I tend to read more electronic books. I've found that since I started reading electronic books I have higher comprehension and retention of the material while I seem to read faster. I've notice that the paper books take about 1.5 to 2 times longer to read than comparable ebooks though the page numbers are often not easy to compare one to the other unless the book has both ebook and hard volume.

Most traditional published books I read on paper because they are less expensive than the ebook, so most of my ebook reading are newer and self published authors. But I now read twice to three times as much as I have in the past because of ebooks.

Of course I fall in the older generation category but I've worked with computers since apple and commodore computers came out so I've been just as distracted by computers and electronic devices as younger people for over half my life. But since I've used computers to design printed circuit boards perhaps that qualifies as training me to use computers on high focus and concentration rather than what is mentioned here.

If I start a book and get to the ten percent I will finish it. Getting lost in the book happens just as often both electronic and paper to the point that if someone needs my attention they have to be pretty rude to get it.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

But since I've used computers to design printed circuit boards

Ever use tape?
My first industrial controller was tape and rub down pads. After that they were all CAD/CAE generated on PC with netlist checking to schematic.

 

[tinkerdan]

I learned on tape when I worked for the National Superconducting Cyclotron lab back in the 80's::

Ever use tape?
My first industrial controller was tape and rub down pads. After that they were all CAD/CAE generated on PC with netlist checking to schematic.

::They had Vax computers with terminals and eventually used Intergragh workstations with dual monitors and E size digitizing pads and for a short time I had to print mylar sheets on an hp plotter for circuits until they let go of the twenty grand for the gerber plotting software. Required learning fortran to program the plotter.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

From 1984 we just sent files to the PCB fabrication, only did draft prints on HP or Roland plotter. Later inkjets and laser. I have 2 x Roland A3+ plotters in attic (one is sick), was toying with idea of laser or UV LED on one.