By junior print journalism student
There’s no question that multimedia has come a long way in American society by advancing our communication process. We are the generation of the BlackBerry, the iPhone YouTube, and a string of social networking sites. With all these technological nuances, however, it’s hard not to take a look at the big picture and notice how our generation is, for lack of a better term, just lazy. Now, with the hype of electronic books emerging (such as Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader), many may presume we’re moving forward. Call me old-fashioned (I’ll be the first to admit I still rush to the library in my spare time with the excitement of finding one of those “can’t be put down” novels), but electronic books? I gulp at the thought.
According to a recent article published in The New York Times, publisher Simon & Shuster is in the works to release four “vooks”-videos that can be inserted throughout electronic text. One can be obtained online or through an iPhone/iPod Touch. The article said publishers find this upcoming trend necessary in order to “lure” the readers. Judith Curr, Publisher of Atria Books, said, “Everybody is trying to think about how books and information will best be put together in the 21st century.”
What I would like to know is why we are always looking to out-do the old system with this illusion that modern is better. Are we so impatient that we can’t even read a traditional hard copy anymore? Reading a classic curled up on the couch, while integrating yourself into that fictional world is a lot more meaningful and personal than going online to let media dish out the plot. The actual essence of the story doesn’t quite stay with you the same way. In addition, reading the author’s final words and forming those everlasting impressions of the book can’t really be achieved in a similar light through these “vooks.”
Luckily, some authors are also disheartened with these new electronic developments, which may replace the conventional form of reading in years to come. Hey, it’s not that far-fetched. Walter Mosley, author of “Devil in a Blue Dress”, as well as, other highly-acclaimed historical mysteries, said he would never allow videos to substitute prose.
“Reading is one of the few experiences we have outside of relationships in which our cognitive abilities grow. Our cognitive abilities actually go backwards when we’re watching television or doing stuff on computers,” Mosley said.
I’ll surrender to everyone being obsessed with their iPhones, while downloading every application on the face of this earth. But I don’t have the will power to allow technology to corrupt the pure joy of reading a book.
