Ebooks still haven’t killed off print books, just in case you were wondering.
Years ago, when ebooks and ereaders first began to climb in popularity, a common question was “will ebooks kill print?” Some people thought that we were on the precipice of a revolution – the freedom to never again have to comb through a dusty book in its physical form. No more papercuts, am I right? Of course, there were plenty of voice urging those other voices to hold their horses.
Well, it’s 2014, and apparently people still love the feel of a real book in their hands – at least according to a new study from Pew.
From the survey in Pew’s Internet & American Life Project:
“Though e-books are rising in popularity, print remains the foundation of Americans’ reading habits. Most people who read e-books also read print books, and just 4% of readers are ‘e-book only.’ Audiobook listeners have the most diverse reading habits overall, while fewer print readers consume books in other formats.”
Takeaway? Readers love to read – in any format. Only 4% of those surveyed have made a complete break with traditional books – a small portion of the 28% of Americans that read an ebook last year (that number is up from 23%, by the way).
Long live books (of all kind, but especially the ones with pages)!
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