Poll: 3 out of 4 Americans prefer paper books

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by medard

Digital reading is not the future...

Do you really believe that?

Personally, I have zero doubt the paper book is dying, but I think it's dying extremely slowly. First to go will be fiction, then the non-fiction equivalent of a novel (i.e. non-fiction intended to be read cover-to-cover... is there a word for that?) Eventually, paper books will be limited to specialty books and possibly bestsellers.

My (reasonably uninformed, unprofessional) guess is that within the next 15-20 years time we'll see the above come to pass. And once it does, it's just a matter of a bit more time before paper books are gone altogether. I may be completely off on that timing, it may happen sooner it may happen later, but I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever it will happen.

[solitarywolf]

I mentioned this opion in the other thread. Is 1000 people really a good sampling? Did they survey people that experienced e-readers? What age group were they targeting? What geographical location? Any many many more questions need to be addressed before we can get an accurate pulse on paper vs e-books.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by solitarywolf

I mentioned this opion in the other thread. Is 1000 people really a good sampling?

If it's selected properly, it is enough for a good sampling. I have no idea if it was selected properly, although these are actual professional pollers.

Did they survey people that experienced e-readers? What age group were they targeting? What geographical location? Any many many more questions need to be addressed before we can get an accurate pulse on paper vs e-books.

None of these points matter for their poll, which was designed *only* to see what Americans in general thought of e-books vs. paper books. An experienced e-reader is still only one individual.

[speakingtohe]

I love my ereader and I love ebooks.

I know many people who prefer paper and many who are ambivalent and some who actually prefer ebooks. Age does not seem to matter. My mother who is 87 loves her ereader, but has no problem with paper either. I know children under 10 who read both. These I would class as ambivalent. Not undecided, just are happy with either.

Myself, I would be devasted to have to go back to paper for fiction. I still am fine with newspapers and magazines in print. I've never been fond of hard covers, as I find them cumbersome, but technical books and non fiction are okay either way. So I am some sort of weird hybrid reader I guess.

I would think that a reputable responsible polling company/person would disqualify those who didn't read at all, or didn't read anything but the TV Guide, but who knows. I would disqualify all who had never tried an ereader

Ultimately it is the children of today who will decide. When someone markets a GI Joe or My Little Pony ereader successfully we will know the time has come.

Helen

[Howlingwolf]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Isn't Rasmussen the same group who insisted that Mitt Romney was going to win the election? Yeah, I don't think I'm going to put much faith in this poll.

They've also been repeatedly accused of 'tailoring' their surveys to give the answer their client wants. A fairly common practice in that field, but they seem to be particularly clumsy about it.

And of course, there's no way of knowing which way and how much the results have been distorted even if we knew who paid for the 'research'.

[Catlady]

I'm finding it really incredible that so many people who don't like the results are having a knee-jerk reaction that the polling methodology is flawed and/or that the pollsters tailored the results to fit someone's agenda.

If there's anything to support this belief, fine--where's the evidence?

It's not like the poll was even remotely close. Why is it so hard to believe that a vast majority of people prefer paper books?

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm finding it really incredible that so many people who don't like the results are having a knee-jerk reaction that the polling methodology is flawed and/or that the pollsters tailored the results to fit someone's agenda.

If there's anything to support this belief, fine--where's the evidence?

It's not like the poll was even remotely close. Why is it so hard to believe that a vast majority of people prefer paper books?

I believe that the majority of people prefer paper books, but if you include people who have never tried an ereader it is like asking people who have no electricity or water what brand of washing machine they prefer. Sure they may have an opinion but based on what?

I also believe the majority of people have not tried an ereader

Helen

[Rizla]

Producers' savings have not been passed on to consumers. *Gasp*

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm finding it really incredible that so many people who don't like the results are having a knee-jerk reaction that the polling methodology is flawed and/or that the pollsters tailored the results to fit someone's agenda.

If there's anything to support this belief, fine--where's the evidence?

It's not like the poll was even remotely close. Why is it so hard to believe that a vast majority of people prefer paper books?

I think the results are meaningless. According to Pew Research, about 25% of Americans read no books at all. About 18% read less than 20 books a year. That means that about 43% of Americans read little or none.

Altogether, 43% of Americans age 16 and older have read long-form writing in digital format as of December 2011 – either e-books or newspaper or magazine material in digital form. We get that figure by combining those in the December survey who have read e-books with the 31% of those who regularly read news content and have read that content in digital format and the 16% who read magazines and journals and have read that content in digital format.

http://libraries.pewinternet.org/201...-of-e-reading/

As I commented upstream, It matters what the question is and who you ask.

[DiapDealer]

I don't really care how many readers prefer paper to electronic. I just know the "three out of four Americans prefer" bit is either bullspit, meaningless, or meaningless bullspit. There is no evidence to support that 3 out of 4 Americans read anything in the past year--let alone read enough to have a valid "preference." I have no trouble believing that a significantly larger percentage of "those who actually read" still prefer paper. No trouble at all. I just don't believe that three out of four Americans even read ... so how could the "three out of four Americans prefer..." claim possibly be valid? That's all BEFORE you get to the part about whether or not someone who's never experienced an ebook can even be said to have a "preference" at all.

Do you prefer apple pie, or a pie made from a fruit you've never tasted?

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

As I commented upstream, It matters what the question is and who you ask.

I think what matters most is who do make the research for

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

I believe that the majority of people prefer paper books, but if you include people who have never tried an ereader it is like asking people who have no electricity or water what brand of washing machine they prefer. Sure they may have an opinion but based on what?

I also believe the majority of people have not tried an ereader.

Well, if they haven't tried an e-reader, isn't that a pretty clear indication that they prefer paper? Are people only allowed to have an opinion about something they've tried? I haven't jumped out of an airplane, but I have an opinion about it--I don't want to do it.

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I think the results are meaningless. According to Pew Research, about 25% of Americans read no books at all. About 18% read less than 20 books a year. That means that about 43% of Americans read little or none.

How is this relevant? The questions in the survey did ask about book buying and reading habits. I certainly would like to see a complete breakdown of the answers. But in any case, I find it quite puzzling that the survey is being trashed mostly because it goes against the cherished beliefs of a nonrepresentative, elite group of people who use e-readers and read well above the average number of books.

[Kralik]

A comment on Slashdot mentioned that Rasmussen only calls land lines in their polling. If this is true, there may also be a generational bias as they are missing out on the cell-phone only demographic..

I think a more meaningful statistic is simply sales percentages of pbooks vs. ebooks.

[jmilica]

Originally Posted by Kralik

I think a more meaningful statistic is simply sales percentages of pbooks vs. ebooks.

But then there is a problem of those buying both, as stated by many members here.

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by jmilica

But then there is a problem of those buying both, as stated by many members here.

But it'd still help indicating a preference of all buyers... "in 25% of all sales of books, buyers prefer the e version over the paper version." Although, then you end up with a question of whether that stat should be reported in dollars or units. With either one there's a skewing of the data to indicate something which may or may not be true.