69传媒

Special Report
69传媒 & Literacy

Do 鈥楧igital Natives鈥 Prefer Paper Books to E-Books?

By Kate Stoltzfus 鈥 November 09, 2016 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

As digital devices and access to e-books proliferated in schools and homes over the past several years, some ed-tech experts expected that print books would soon become relics鈥攐r at least fall out of favor with a generation growing up in an electronic world.

But, in a wrinkle in the digital revolution, that hasn鈥檛 transpired鈥攁t least not yet.

More children now 鈥61 percent in 2014 compared with 25 percent in 2010, according to Scholastic鈥檚 2015 Kids and Family 69传媒 report.

But most students still opt to turn actual pages. In the Scholastic survey, 65 percent of children ages 6 to 17 agreed they would always want to read in print, up from 60 percent in 2012. And 77 percent who had tried e-reading said that the majority of the books they read were in print. That was especially true for younger readers when reading for pleasure: 84 percent of 6- to 8-year-olds read mostly on paper, compared with 62 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds.

Meanwhile, e-books haven鈥檛 markedly altered the collections of school libraries. According to a 2015 School Library Journal survey, some responded that they now make e-books available to students鈥攂ut that number was down from the previous year. And the librarians surveyed observed that while students use e-books for school projects and research, many still prefer print books, especially for pleasure reading. Only 6 percent of librarians reported a high interest in e-books from students, while 37 percent called it 鈥渕oderate,鈥 and 50 percent said it was 鈥渓ow.鈥

鈥楾actile Experience鈥

Those responses appear to be reflected in e-book sales in children鈥檚 and young-adult categories. E-book sales for publishers have steadily dropped since 2012, according to the Association of American Publishers鈥 annual survey of 1,800 publishers in the United States, including the five largest traditional ones. Digital books made up 6.4 percent of annual children鈥檚 and young-adult revenue sales for book publishers in 2015 (around $271.8 million), compared with 13.1 percent in 2012.

However, it is worth noting that Amazon.com, the maker of the Kindle and the leading seller in the e-bookindustry, reported , according to The Wall Street Journal.

E-books by the Numbers

BRIC ARCHIVE

Source: School Library Journal

Studies point to a number of reasons why young people may prefer print to e-books, including early familiarity with print books, the 鈥渢actile experience鈥 of reading on paper, and , particularly for longer texts.

Indeed, the ability to 鈥渢oggle鈥 between print and digital for different types of information consumption might be a key aspect of effective literacy today.

鈥淥ur teachers are using digital books more than ever before,鈥 said Susie Harkey, the media coordinator at Park View Elementary School in Mooresville, N.C. 鈥69传媒 are very familiar with digital content, but I don鈥檛 think they equate reading with their iPads. They like to have something in hand.鈥

But, as the School Library Journal points out, the next generation of students may add a whole new dimension to reading trends. 鈥淭he first 鈥榮martphone natives鈥 (born since 2007 when the iPhone was introduced) are now just entering elementary school,鈥 the group says in its survey. 鈥淲ill they have a greater affinity for e-books?鈥

A version of this article appeared in the November 09, 2016 edition of Education Week as Digital Generation Eschews E-Books for Pleasure 69传媒

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

69传媒 & Literacy What Teachers Say They Need Most to Help Struggling Teen Readers
Educators also want more time in the school day to work on reading skills, a new survey finds.
4 min read
Close cropped photo of an open book with a teen girl's eyes peering over the top of the book.
Jack Hollingsworth/Getty
69传媒 & Literacy Opinion Boys Don't Love to Read. Could This Former Teacher Be on to Something?
Boys are falling behind in reading. Books with military-history themes may help reverse this trend.
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
69传媒 & Literacy Is Handwriting a Lost Art? What One College鈥檚 Kerfuffle Over Cursive Can Tell Us
Since 2014, there鈥檚 been a resurgence of cursive and handwriting education.
6 min read
A photograph of a close up of cursive handwriting that is undecipherable
E+
69传媒 & Literacy Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Student Literacy Data?
Answer 7 questions about the importance of student literacy data and how to collect and use it.