Advantages and Disadvantages of Ebook

We live in an era where we all depend on digital things. We are trying to advance everything with the latest technologies. Nowadays, you can see that most things, such as a stove for cooking food or a brush for cleaning teeth, are coming with automated technologies. We are growing in the field of technology. Likewise, we have invented so many tools and platforms that are helpful for the education system, and in this sequence, humans invented the Ebook (also written as eBook, E-Book, e-book, E-book, eBook, etc.)

Ebook (which stands for electronic book) refers to a digital copy or a soft copy of the book that can be stored and shared using electronic mediums. They can be stored in digital devices like mobiles, computers, tablets, etc. Also, they can be read directly through such devices. In this article, we are going to know some pros and cons of Ebooks.

Advantages of Ebooks

Ebooks have given us so many benefits, and if we compare them with paper books, we can easily find so many things that make us say that Ebooks are better than paper books in so many situations. Let's see some notable advantages of Ebooks:

Save Trees

When we talk about paper books, the first thing that comes to mind is that they are made up using trees, which means every year we have to cut so many trees to print these paper books. As we all know, trees are one of the most important elements of this earth; without them, we cannot assume life on earth. However, it is not the case with Ebooks. It is the biggest advantage of Ebooks because it helps save so many trees.

No Burden to Carry

When we purchase a paper book, we always have to carry it and take good care of it. Also, it can be destroyed in many uncertain ways, such as by coming in contact with water, storing for long periods of time, being eaten by insects, etc. However, in the case of eBooks, we do not need to do anything after downloading them from the internet, nor can they be destroyed by those means. Whenever we go somewhere with our smartphone, we also take our Ebooks with us, which is a big advantage as we don't need to carry a heavy load, such as in the case of physical books. Let's say you are at a wedding party and feeling bored. In that case, also, you can use your eBook and make good use of time by reading it.

Useful for Online Study

During the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, most institutions were offering their classes via online mode. At that time, teachers could not easily use a paper book to show something to an entire class or group of students connected by video conferencing. This was because either they had to move the camera frequently or they needed to hire an expert who could edit their classes efficiently. However, they could easily use an Ebook for teaching the student or the entire class. With certain tools and software, it was easy to share the device screen with others as well, so an Ebook would act as a common source. Ebooks are still being used extensively for online classes or studies.

Easy to Get and Share

In rural areas, you will get many colleges where students have to complete their studies without using a book. It happens because either they need more money to purchase a book or their home is too away from the shop and they can only go once. However, when we talk about Ebooks, students can easily download any desired Ebook from the internet, and after that, they can easily complete their studies.

Papers books are often much more expensive than respective Ebooks. For example, if you want to purchase a "Let Us C" book by Yashavant Kanetkar, then for a paper book, you have to pay around four hundred eighty rupees, while you can purchase the same book in PDF format (Ebook) by spending around 300 rupees or even less. So, you can understand that Ebooks can be good stuff for those students facing financial issues.

Availability of a Variety of Books

In colleges, teachers often tell students to purchase similar books from different authors or publications, and because of this, every student has to purchase many books, and after this, they all have to carry these books with them. However, when we talk about Ebooks then, only a single student can share his book with the whole class after purchasing it from the internet, and the rest of the students can purchase some other books from different authors/ publications. In this way, they will save a decent amount of money as a whole. Fortunately, there is a wide range of Ebook collections available on the internet these days. Also, most physical books are also released with their Ebook version to increase accessibility.

Disadvantages of Ebook

Every coin has two parts. Just like this, Ebooks also have some disadvantages, and if we compare them with paper books, we will notice so many things by which we can say that Ebooks cannot entirely replace paper books. Let's see some notable disadvantages of Ebooks:

Lack of Motivation

How many Ebooks have you stored on your phone? In answer to this question, most of you will say that you have downloaded many Ebooks on your phone. However, if asked whether you read every book you downloaded on your phone, most of you will find that you have downloaded them but still need to use them, and this is the biggest disadvantage of having an Ebook instead of a paper book. When we purchase a paper book, every time we see it on our study table or whenever we see it, we will get the motivation to read it, but in the case of Ebooks, we usually do not care about them. The primary reason why Ebooks do not motivate people is that there are many annoying/ disturbing things on devices like mobiles and laptops, which generally attract people more than reading.

No Feel

We have been reading and learning from paper books since childhood, and hence we think or feel of physical paper books as the primary method of study. Furthermore, when we think of Ebooks, they usually don't feel in our hands, and most of us don't relate or connect with Ebooks in the same way. So, we do not get the feeling of serious study and learning whenever we read through Ebooks. However, this is not the case with everyone.

No Effort

We store Ebooks either on Smartphones or on laptops, and as we all know that in these both, we have access to the internet. So, whenever we get stuck on a question, we immediately switch our tab and start searching for the answer directly through the internet instead of studying or searching through the Ebook. However, when we have a paper book, we go deep into the subject and find the desired answer after a lot of effort, which makes us remember the answer properly. Because of this, we can say that Ebooks are not equal to paper books.

Consume Electricity

To read any Ebook, you have to open it either on a smartphone or on a laptop. Both depend on electricity, and so you must waste some electricity to study your notes through Ebooks, whether it is day or night. If by chance, you are living in a rural place where you don't get electricity 24 hours a day, then you may face so many problems in accessing Ebooks all the time. Because you will be unable to read your Ebook without electricity, paper books will be more helpful in areas with the least to no electricity. With a paper book, you don't usually need to depend on any other resource all the time.

Costly

To teach a whole class, the teacher often uses a physical book, and from that book, he describes every topic step by step so that students can easily understand the topic. In this method, teachers do not require costly tools, devices, or equipment. Instead, they can teach just with a board and marker. On the contrary, it will not be possible to teach from Ebooks so easily unless the teacher has the latest devices and other related tools, especially the projector. If a teacher wants to teach using the Ebook on a projector, he will have to pay a lot of money to buy that projector. Therefore, a paper book is a more accessible and cheaper option for the teacher.

Low Eyesight and Stressful

Every electronic device, like mobile and laptop, generates blue rays that typically harm our eyes. When we read an Ebook from our laptop or computer, we have to pay full attention to the screen of such devices, and due to this, our eyes have to face many problems. This can affect our eyesight over time, as well as cause regular stress, tension, and headaches. Thus, we can also count it as a big disadvantage of having an Ebook instead of a paper book.

Conclusion

Both Ebooks and paper books have their own advantages and disadvantages. We cannot compare them to draw any direct conclusions as, in some cases, a paper book is better while in others, an eBook works. So, it mainly depends on the type of book and the requirements of the student regarding what he/she should choose between them.