Interesting article at the NY Times today, this gets at the heart of it:
Few who believe in the potential of the Web deny the value of books. But they argue that it is unrealistic to expect all children to read “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Pride and Prejudice” for fun. And those who prefer staring at a television or mashing buttons on a game console, they say, can still benefit from reading on the Internet. In fact, some literacy experts say that online reading skills will help children fare better when they begin looking for digital-age jobs.
Also, check out this video which sums it up quite nicely.
I personally read a lot, both on and offline. I love the quick at hand, wide breadth of information of the web, and I love the leisurely pace of reading offline. As a member of that bridge generation who can still remember when computers weren’t connected to the internet (but can’t quite remember a world without computers), it seems like “kids today” would rather read almost anything that’s on a screen rather than a book, but my sample size is pretty small.
Anyone out there have observations they would like to share regarding online vs offline reading?
