Quote:
Originally Posted by exaltedwombat
And, - unless you have an axe to grind, why not just be happy reading is taking place at all!
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Because, as others have pointed out, reading is a means to an end. It'd be like a debate over whether plowing your fields leads to better yields or not. "Why not just be happy people are planting?" If people read slower, retain less, and are not able to find things later, then their reading time is not being used as productively as it could be.
OTOH, if they're able to read more often, they may consume more books. Audiobooks are waaaaay slower than printed books, but my kids have heard many books simply because we listen in the car on the way to-and-from town. It's not the same as reading them, but it's probably been better for them than constantly staring out the window or fighting over who's foot is on the wrong side.
I don't have an axe to grind, but I do wonder what the answers are to my listed questions. And I'm afraid we'll have to wait a long time to get those answers, and by then the new technology will be entrenched, even if it is proven to be inferior.