On vacation: 71 percent prefer paper over e-books, survey claims

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by MattW

So? Why do we automatically judge the surveys whose results we don't agree with personally as suspect?

Only those we didn't make up ourselves.

[copyrite]

I was actually a bit nosy walking around on the beach yesterday afternoon. I didn't see one eReader or tablet... saw a bunch of paperbacks. My unscientific survey results were much closer to 100%.

Personally though, I don't tend to take electronics near the sand / water for fear of damage.

[Sydney's Mom]

Before I got my kindle, I would take about 10 pbooks on a 2-week vacation, and hope I didn't pick the wrong genres. I love my kindle in the sun or in front of the fire or next to my husband in the bedroom (he is a morning person, I am a night owl).

[Grace Elliot]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Before I got my kindle, I would take about 10 pbooks on a 2-week vacation, and hope I didn't pick the wrong genres. I love my kindle in the sun or in front of the fire or next to my husband in the bedroom (he is a morning person, I am a night owl).

Ditto - I used to pack a holdall of books - so I'd got every genre covered to suit my reading mood. I suppose if you are worried about battery life on a long haul flight then a DTB might sneak in there somehow...but otherwise the survey result is counter intuitive.

[Barcey]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Before I got my kindle, I would take about 10 pbooks on a 2-week vacation, and hope I didn't pick the wrong genres. I love my kindle in the sun or in front of the fire or next to my husband in the bedroom (he is a morning person, I am a night owl).

Originally Posted by Grace Elliot

Ditto - I used to pack a holdall of books - so I'd got every genre covered to suit my reading mood. I suppose if you are worried about battery life on a long haul flight then a DTB might sneak in there somehow...but otherwise the survey result is counter intuitive.

You love your kindle next to Sydney's Mom's husband in the bedroom? Oh, you meant the other stuff.

Originally Posted by Grace Elliot

I suppose if you are worried about battery life on a long haul flight (...)

Note to NASA engineers: add USB charging port to Lunar Command Module and Lunar Lander.

[speakingtohe]

I used to buy a book or two at the airport bookstore whenever I flew even if I had six in my carry-on. Was a self-bribe to get over my fear of flying. I'm pretty well over it now so I don't usually visit them.

I don't go too far with out an ereader in my backpack or pocket. I don't go to the beach to read, but I generally still have an ereader in my beach bag just in case. I do read outdoors even in the rain and feel that my ereader will survive the experience better than a paper book. returning a soggy library book can cost you quite a bit, and they invariably get soggy in the rain if they are paper.

Ereaders are more expensive than one book for sure, but I doubt I would destroy as many. Does everyone leave their cellphones behind when getting on a plane or going outside? Seems to me that they are just as susceptible to loss or damage.

Helen

[faithbw]

I'm surprised there's so much skepticism about these results. Anecdotally, most people I see still use paper books. All my friends and family prefer paper books (that is if they read). My husband only reads paper books despite having access to my e-reader and my tablet. I rarely see dedicated e-readers in the wild. Honestly, the people on this site (self included) are likely an enthusiastic minority when it comes to e-books. I read ebooks when I travel but I can count on my hands the number of people I see on planes and train that are reading ebooks.

[meeera]

I don't particularly think that the numbers must be wrong; what I question is the quoted Retail Director's interpretation, which is a strong implication that (most? the vast majority? what?) people who normally use ereaders prefer paper on holidays. There's no evidence for that whatsoever in the data provided.

What data we did get says that:

"71% of travellers would rather pack their suitcases full of books than opt for a lightweight eReader." Do these people own ereaders? Do they use ereaders normally? We're not told: we're just told that they read paper on holidays. This may be because 71% of travellers don't normally use ereaders, it may be because they polled paper book buyers (eg by locating the survey in a retail paper book store), it may be because of various other things.

We're then told: "Two thirds (67%) prefer the feel of a real book in their hand". To me, this says that the overwhelming majority of that 71% holiday paper readers are paper users who have no interest in ereading at home either, that they do not normally use ereaders.

"Over 1 in 10 (12%) want to leave technology behind altogether whilst abroad" tells us nothing except that a few people get annoyed by constantly ringing cellphones and the demands of work email. Fewer than I'd expect, actually.

So why did the Retail Director want us to think that people leave their ereaders behind while they're travelling? That does not follow from the data. All we know from the data is that most people surveyed (again, where? how was the sample chosen?) read paper books. There's nothing surprising there, and it tells us nothing about travel.

[Blossom]

I don't know about traveling but at the Medical Clinic I go to everyone has either tablet or a eReader I've yet to see anyone with a regular book with the exception of this one girl who was doing her homework. There is like 3 hour wait there too. I am usually too nervous to read when I go.

I just can't see taking my Kindle to the docs. I keep thinking how contaminate it would get. Yuk! When I travel on vacation I take my K3 and Kindle Fire with me. I don't read outside so no problems worrying it might get damage.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by faithbw

I'm surprised there's so much skepticism about these results. Anecdotally, most people I see still use paper books. All my friends and family prefer paper books (that is if they read). My husband only reads paper books despite having access to my e-reader and my tablet. I rarely see dedicated e-readers in the wild. Honestly, the people on this site (self included) are likely an enthusiastic minority when it comes to e-books. I read ebooks when I travel but I can count on my hands the number of people I see on planes and train that are reading ebooks.

The "skepticism" isn't over the numbers but over the way the survey was made and its (apparent) intended use.

The survey as presented is a meaningless factoid that says nothing new or meaningful.
First of all, it is a survey of the general population: 25-30% of which doesn't read books at all--if you wanted it to mean something, you would limit it to actual book readers.
Second, it doesn't weigh the "votes" by reading habits: people who only read on travel, or rarely, have no use for ebook readers.
Third, as pointed out, the factoids are presented as if to deprecate ebook usage, when the numbers actually indicate significant growth in ebook popularity. Which tells us very little because they only asked about preferences, not actions.

A proper survey would begin by asking if the respondent reads books for recreation. Then it would ask how many books read in a typical year, how many read in the last year, and how many were ebook editions. Then it would repeat for actual *purchases*. For ebook users it would ask *how* the ebooks are read--phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or dedicated reader--and it would end by asking for gender, broad age group (at least 5 ranges), broad income range (ditto), and take note of location if possible.
And, a meaningful survey would sample different locations and different times in clusters.
Then, it *might* have meaning if the questions were properly (as in clearly, unambiguously, and neutrally) phrased *and* if the sample proves to be big enough to be representative of the target population.

Polling is not for amateurs.
Doing it right is hard work.

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The "skepticism" isn't over the numbers but over the way the survey was made and its (apparent) intended use.

The survey as presented is a meaningless factoid that says nothing new or meaningful.
First of all, it is a survey of the general population: 25-30% of which doesn't read books at all--if you wanted it to mean something, you would limit it to actual book readers.
Second, it doesn't weigh the "votes" by reading habits: people who only read on travel, or rarely, have no use for ebook readers.
Third, as pointed out, the factoids are presented as if to deprecate ebook usage, when the numbers actually indicate significant growth in ebook popularity. Which tells us very little because they only asked about preferences, not actions.

A proper survey would begin by asking if the respondent reads books for recreation. Then it would ask how many books read in a typical year, how many read in the last year, and how many were ebook editions. Then it would repeat for actual *purchases*. For ebook users it would ask *how* the ebooks are read--phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or dedicated reader--and it would end by asking for gender, broad age group (at least 5 ranges), broad income range (ditto), and take note of location if possible.
And, a meaningful survey would sample different locations and different times in clusters.
Then, it *might* have meaning if the questions were properly (as in clearly, unambiguously, and neutrally) phrased *and* if the sample proves to be big enough to be representative of the target population.

Polling is not for amateurs.
Doing it right is hard work.

Or they could just poll here at MR

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by 5thWiggle

Or they could just poll here at MR

They could.
But I'm not sure those numbers would fit his (likely) agenda of convincing airport bookstore and newstand operators that travelers really, really prefer print and that the drop in airport book sales is not going to get worse. (So stop complaining about the high rent!)

[Katsunami]

By the way: I often see that people regard it as a problem that they cannot read during take-off and landing. I've never flown, so I have no idea: how long does this take? People make it sound as if take-off and landing takes hours on end. I'd be surprised if either takes more than 15 minutes... At 20+, it would start to get annoying if you want to get reading.

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

By the way: I often see that people regard it as a problem that they cannot read during take-off and landing. I've never flown, so I have no idea: how long does this take? People make it sound as if take-off and landing takes hours on end. I'd be surprised if either takes more than 15 minutes... At 20+, it would start to get annoying if you want to get reading.

Yeah, it is a pain to have to turn off my Kindle turning take-offs and landings, but it is worth it to me.