Ebooks or Books? Is digital Ereading on the rise?

Barnes and Noble Nook - Image Intelfreepress
Barnes & Noble Nook - Image Intelfreepress
Are adults turning to Ebooks or do they still prefer to sit down and thumb through the pages of the traditional book? 
Instead of wondering which best-seller to use as a stocking filler or surprise gift, should you be considering an Ebook reader as a present this year or a selection of digital Ebooks or are you so confused about what to choose, maybe gift certificates might be an better option?

Research results from a survey ending December 2011, by Pew Research Center show that  during this time around 20 percent of Americans read an e-book and this type of digital medium is encouraging reading.

Figures show that reading is on the rise in the US and is being prompted by the availability of e-books.

The report The rise of e-reading, compiled from surveys, was conducted at the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012 in order to understand:

 
  • people’s general reading habits
  • their ownership of print books
    • Ebooks and tablets - digital reading - Image - Intel freepress
    Ebooks and tablets - Image Intelfreepress
  • their ownership of e-books and audiobooks
It seems that feelings towards the availability of different types of reading media shows that overall digital e-books may be encouraging more people to read than in the past and a preference is being shown for buying books over borrowing them.
Research reveals that in December 2011, 17% of American adults had read an e-book. This number grew to 21% by February 2012 after a jump of ownership mid December of both tablet computers and e-book reading devices such as the original Kindles and Nooks.

The main findings are:

That 43% of Americans age 16 and older had read long-form digital text such as e-books and magazines.


Among those who had read an e-book:
  • 42% read e-books on a computer
  • 41% read e-books on an e-book reader like Kindles or Nooks
  • 29% read e-books on a cell phone
  • 23% read e-books on a tablet computer
  • 88% of those who read an e-book in the past year also read a printed book

In the 12 months surveyed:
  • 72% of adults had read a print book
  • 21% of adults had read an e-book
  • 11% of adults had listened to an audiobook
The research was conducted by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, headed by Lee Raine and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Adapted from an article posted Apr 5, 2012 by Lesley Lanir on Digital Journal

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