In recent years, more and more people are choosing to read e-book rather than paper books. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend ?

Over the last few decades, the tendency of using electronic books has risen in popularity over the alternative of paper-format ones. This essay will highlight both the benefits and drawbacks that result from such a switch. To begin with the positives, a crucial advantage that digital books have as a form of reading is that they are environmentally friendly. This is because they neither require resources taken by the nature and nor end up as landfill waste. In contrast, the thorough process of manufacturing paper books poses a problem of deforestation, that is meant by chopping down trees on a massive scale. Besides reducing the number of dead trees, e-books are also more affordable. As there is no need to manufacture and ship them, it is enough to have an access to the Internet to download any preferable material in electronic form. Nevertheless, excessive and inappropriate use of e-books does present several pressing matters. For instance, individuals, whose job requires constantly staring at the screen of the device, may suffer from eye strain resulting in red eyes or itchiness. Another disadvantage that cancels out a benefit of these books is the lack of feeling referred as “book satisfaction”. Unlike paper books, it is considered to be utterly impossible to feel the lovely fragrance of new book and turning pages, thus failing to carry sentimental values of printed form of books. In conclusion, although books published in electronic form are beneficial in terms of being eco-friendly and saving money, it is no wonder that they also harm people’s eyesight and are arguably not as appealing as books made out of paper.