With the increase in use of the Internet, books will soon become unnecessary.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
To a large extent the internet has affected our reading patterns. Many people subscribe to on-line newspapers and magazines and it is now possible to download books to a portable e-book device. The future of books does seem gloomy considering that the sale of electronic books has increased rapidly in recent years and people prefer to spend their time on-line rather than reading a book.
Readers are able to access a wide variety of free resources on the internet. Research papers can be downloaded in the form of a pdf file in seconds and keywords can help locate passages without having to read through a whole book. As well as providing information, the internet offers an endless amount of entertainment in the form of games, movies, music and social networking. That is why many prefer this media to books which are time consuming.
Despite the advantages that reading electronically offers, I do not think the paper format of books will disappear completely. Traditional books have been around for thousands of years and have sentimental value for some readers who are not willing to make the switch to another format. Reading a book is often regarded as a passive activity and is not to everybody’s taste.
Even though the internet now fulfils the role of books and offers additional features like in-built dictionaries, free book samples and flexible search options, in my view there will also be a demand for books and bookshops. How would commuters pass the time waiting for their transport means if they could not walk into a store and browse the latest paperback?