It is a common misconception that technology is taking over, especially for youth. The eyes of the elder bore into the young Millennial soul, silently judging young adults for having their eyes glued to their cellphones. Most say that books, magazines and newspapers will be an item of the past, equally as deceased as a typewriter. With e-readers, who needs them?
To this prediction, I disagree. The feeling of flipping a page and breaking in the spine of a book is a feeling of comfort that will not be going away anytime soon.
However, photographer Reinier Gerritsen took to documenting the reading of books as if all of literature is sure to vanish overnight. According to an article on Slate, Gerritsen spent years on this project. He rode the subway in New York City and photographed each individual he saw that had a book in hand. He shot thousands of individuals, as well as observed, “An individual’s choice of book was as much an expression of identity as an item of clothing."
It’s as if Gerritsen is planning a memorial for something that isn't quite dead yet. His intentions were commendable — seeing someone read a book and transport themselves into another place, as well as expand their mind is a beautiful sight. However, upon seeing this article, I found it hard to believe that soon I won’t see a soul reading a printed story, so much so that I will need a photo to remind me what it looks like. He seemed wildly far off, and in a way he was.
TIME reported that “in the first three-quarters of 2014, overall book sales increased by 4.9 percent.” Those statistics don't seem to support the need for an art portfolio of New Yorkers flipping pages. Not to mention, books in the genre of young adult increased even more, by 22.4 percent. As for adults? Their book sales went down 3.3 percent. Granted, as TIME pointed out, a few mothers probably skewed that data — we all know they’re suckers for "Twilight," and don't even get them started on John Green.
Sure, e-book sales increased too — we can’t deny that — but TIME also reported that only 20 percent of teenagers buy e-books, and many of those purchasing digital copies still express their preference for print editions. Take a walk through a college campus or through a bookstore. Hell, a walk down the street and you’ll believe that statistic.
It may seem as if the Millennial generation only wants technology, but it could be possible we'd rather have a light shining on our pages, instead of beaming up at us behind the words. We like our cellphones, and our laptops complete with Netflix are a best friend of sorts, but we need to give credit where credit is due. Young adults are able to appreciate the finer things — this includes books. It is evident they don’t want to see books go either, no need to document young adults reading and drive them to buy an e-reader out of spite.
Reach the columnist at dpharias@asu.edu or follow @Dpharias on Twitter.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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