A question has been rattling my mind lately, and I feel a need to write about this topic.

Will books ever become obsolete?

People have been questioning the possibility of books disappearing as technology advances for a while now, so I’m going to share my thoughts on this matter, and explain what I think will happen in the future.

Possible Causes

At first glance, it seems obvious that the problem with books losing popularity is because younger generations aren’t as excited to read.

Though people might argue that this people losing interest in reading is a bad thing, I think it’s best to look from their perspective and see what could be causing this issue.

One of the biggest reasons that people might be avoiding books is from the development of technology. From podcasts to social media sites to search engines, we can now get information from anywhere at any time.

It’s hard for me to believe that there was a world without technology, since that’s what I grew up with. Imagine not having almost all the information available at your fingertips? Having to put effort into learning more about a topic, like going to a library to find books about it?

It makes sense that the younger generation is more interested in technology, since that’s what they’re used to. Just the same goes for older generations. They grew up with books as their main source for information and entertainment.

This means that books, especially non-fiction ones, don’t matter so much to the younger generations than they did before. You could argue that the internet’s information is less accurate than books, but this isn’t necessarily the case, since although the internet may have some unreliable information, students are learning more about internet safety and reliability now that it’s an important issue to address.

There is also another reason why children and teens may be less interested in books that I’ve recently noticed: could they just not have had a good experience with the first novel they’ve read?

Think about it this way – school systems tend to make students read assigned books that are usually classics. Those books are considered timeless, but it doesn’t feel that way to someone who can’t understand what’s going on because of the older kind of language used in the story, or because they need to take notes instead of just enjoying the book.

If this is frustrating to someone, and also their first time reading a novel or book of that genre, they probably won’t want to try reading books like that again. They now have bad memories associated with books, of struggle and lack of understanding.

So, now that we’ve looked into it more, doesn’t it make sense that students don’t pay as much attention to books as they do to other forms of entertainment? And the even bigger question: How can we change this, and keep books from becoming obsolete?

Resolving This Issue

One way we can fix this issue by targeting more fictional and even nonfiction books toward children and teens. Modern popular books are popular because of their readability, and because the plot is easier to follow. There are also characters that we can understand and relate to, and the story has never-ending suspense and discovery.

Books used in audio format may also be more popular than the printed format, since they’re more accessible and don’t require so much concentration.

I always wonder why some people don’t like reading the way I do, but I was lucky to have found books that fit my style from a young age, and my love of reading continues to grow as I get older.

That’s another a great way to help people enjoy books on their own terms; to let them find their style.

There are dozens of genres out there, so many that there’s bound to be one that each person likes. It’s exciting to find a book you’re engrossed in, and there’s a new adventure for you to go on each time you flip a page.

There’s a variety of books for people to read, and if we let others find ones that they’re interested in, then maybe there will be an increase in readers down the line.

In the end, I think everyone should take the time to find and read a good book. It’s especially important for children and teens to do this, since books can inspire us and help our creativity grow, and may come in handy in the future during university or for a job. What does avoiding both reading and technology do, except limit our view of the world?

Image: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash