Apples and Oranges
Reading is basically a mode for people to capture and understand others’ perspective on different subject matters. When we read, we analyze the author’s intent and meaning behind the words. In other words, it is basically a conversation between two people. In our current digital society, reading started to evolve from traditional papers to screens, allowing many users to have faster access in their hands. How does the experience of reading differ? Let us find out.
Digital mediums, such as Medium, allow people to freely express their ideas in a more conversational way. Medium provides variety of choices to the readers who indulge in their interested category, and explore different ideas on the same subject. When these users have comments they are eager to share, they can easily do that with a press of a keyboard button, acquiring a sense of conversational style. Let us explore in depth.
When I was reading Simon Klein’s essay, “Tinder in Skidmore College,” I saw several elements that had to be changed and edited. For example, Simon could insert a part of direct quotations from the interview that strongly show the users’ attitude towards Tinder. I was able to do that easily by using the comment feature on Google Doc, allowing me to give instant feedback to Simon. This instant feedback is very useful and powerful as it allows the author of the post to see the comments and therefore could make the changes in his writing. This is a very significant feature, as it enhances the communication between the author and the reader.
Reading paperback was a different experience. When I opened a physical book, my mind was in more calm and relaxed state, whereas the computer screen gave me a headache after long period of time. Therefore, when I was reading, it helped me to contemplate and ponder for longer period of time, whereas on screen I would scroll through in a short span of time. The paperbacks do not require for us to scroll or see other ads, and enables me to purely focus on the read.
I was reading, “Mindfulness” by Mark Williams. The book is used as a remedy or guide for anyone who is going through a certain life struggles or challenges that they want to overcome. The book had tables of content where I was able to view how the chapters are divided. As I was reading, I was making highlights that I thought it was important, and jotting down tiny, private comments on the side for only myself to view. This comments helped me to more critically review the book’s content as I had more freedom to write whatever I wanted. These comments that I made will not be shared in public, where the author and other readers will not see. This allowed me to think more freely and write any comments and notes from my perspective, without having to worry about the accuracy of my thoughts. This does not help me to communicate with the author or others; however, helps me to communicate with myself.
Comparing the experiences I had reading online article to reading a physical book, I realized each mode of reading had different forms of drawbacks as well.
When I was reading Simon’s essay, I was able to quickly give him comments using the “Suggestion” feature on Google Doc; however, I had to be prudent with my wordings and the intent behind my comments. For example, when I was writing comments, I had to be direct and concise with my comments. I avoided all types of opinions that will distort or offend the author’s intent. I think doing this limits the readers’ voices and the potential to bring out better arguments or opinion to add to the essay. Furthermore, I found it overall more distracting viewing the essay as I encountered few popups and notifications I received from my screen. For example, when I was giving feedback to Simon’s essay, I kept receiving notifications from Medium and Facebook about my updates. Every time when the notification popped up, I was distracted and therefore had trouble going back to my zone.
Reading physical book had less drawback as it gave me a calm, relaxing reading experience; however, I less used dictionary and had limited thinking. When I was reading “Mindfulness,” I kept encountered words I did not know or unsure about. But since quick dictionary was not available, I decided to skip most of the complicated words. For example, when I was reading about “insula and empathy” section of the book, I did not know what “insula” meant and so continued reading the chapter. If I were on internet, I would most likely accessed Google and searched it up about it.
In addition to this, when I was reading, notetaking seemed to be limited in a sense that I could only write in a space between the paragraphs. When I do write my comments or observations, I often could not make the notes very organized, where I have hard time reading them.
Furthermore, physical texts are limited to only texts. Readers who use online medium have the access to look at infographics and audio interviews to understand better about the subject, whereas physical texts do not have that function. For example, Simon has interviews and bar graphs posted on his article. The interviews and graphs were evidence to show how Skidmore students thought about Tinder. Without access to these, the opinion would be less strongly conveyed.
Both have great benefits, but also some drawbacks. Which one is better for effective reading? Well both are, but each should be used in different circumstances. Online medium, such as Medium, provides a convenient mode for readers to leave comments and interact among others and the author. Therefore, if a reader is interested to read about a controversial subject, then online medium would be the choice.
Physical texts usually focus on a subject that can be deeply analyzed or explained. For example, “Mindfulness” focuses on what mindfulness is, and how to master it. In this kind of book, it is unlikely for the text to contain controversial matters. The reader can silently read on their own, and learn on their own. Therefore, if a reader wants to read about a deep subject matter, choose paperbacks.
When we are going to compare between digital mediums and physical texts, it follows the analogy, “Apples and Oranges”. Apples and oranges are two different fruits, and therefore cannot say which fruit is better than the other. This is because they are two distinct fruits with different tastes. When we look at mediums and physical texts, they can be used interchangeably depending on what the user wants to read about. Each has different benefits and drawbacks, therefore use them efficiently and effectively.