No More Newspapers or Textbooks?

In the digital age, more and more people are turning to the internet to get their news. There are many advantages to the internet as a news resource—the ability to be constantly updated, and the opportunity for reader feedback, for example—but what does this mean for the future of print newspapers? According to this New York Times article, newspaper sales have been steadily declining over the past few years, and recently, the rate at which they are decreasing has accelerated. The article claims that not all of this decline in circulation is due to people turning to the internet for news instead, but there is no denying that this is a huge factor. Are we heading in the direction of a world without print newspapers? Many news websites are incredibly reliable, thorough, easy to use and are a great resource for getting news fast, but is America truly ready for the newspaper---a huge part of our collective past—to become obsolete?

The same issue pertains to books: with the invention of the Kindle—an electronic device that downloads and stores the text of up to 1500 books and displays them on a screen designed not to cause eye strain like a normal computer screen—many have voiced the concern that the end of paper books is near. The Kindle has many practical advantages—it is incredibly environmentally friendly, saving millions of pages, and for students, it’s much easier to carry one Kindle than four huge textbooks. However, there are disadvantages: the Kindle does not have a color screen, making it difficult for things like textbook diagrams and maps to translate well, and the library of books you can download is not completely comprehensive. This New Yorker reviewer points out more of the pros and cons of the Kindle. While I recognize that it’s practical, I can’t help being a little scared by the potential power of technology like the Kindle—does this mean the eventual end of libraries and bookstores? I know that day is still a long ways away, but with things like the rise of internet news and the Kindle now available, we can feel it getting closer and closer all the time.

-Miranda