Reading paper vs the screen

[Soleil]

I am, and always have been, an avid reader. And I very much prefer paper books to e-books, for several reasons: for one thing, I can have multiple books open at once for cross-referencing and comparing things; for another, I just love having shelves full of books.

But here's my point: I have a harder time reading things off the screen. Paper I can read no problem (barring the occasional typo or printing error- which are more common than you'd think), but trying to read a lot of text off my phone, my tablet, my monitor, is rather difficult. It's harder for me to comprehend and remember what I've read, it's harder for me to focus, and it's just a bit more tiring than paper.

Could this be a sensory issue, the way some people prefer speech over print? I do have a little bit of a light sensitivity, so maybe that's related?

Is anyone else like this?

 

[Giraffes]

I am like you much prefer paper books over e-books, it may be a sensory issue i'm interested to hear others views.

 

[Ezra]

I like both.

 

[Ella Spell]

I prefer paper books. When I read online I use a dark mode so the background is black, or else it hurts my eyes.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

Using the dark mode helps me a lot for screen reading. You can use an add-on to browsers called Stylish to display pages like this one in dark mode.

 

[ASD_Geek]

I am, and always have been, an avid reader. And I very much prefer paper books to e-books, for several reasons: for one thing, I can have multiple books open at once for cross-referencing and comparing things; for another, I just love having shelves full of books.

Is anyone else like this?

I am not sure if it is a sensory issue, but I am the same way. Although I read a lot online, I'd rather have the paper books and just about never get rid of books and have shelves of them. This is a point of contention with my wife, but it mostly resolved after we agreed to turn a spare bedroom into a library for me.

 

[Fino]

I prefer paper books and I suspect it's primarily a dislike of change.

 

[Kalinychta]

I adore paper books. Everything about them. I’m horrified by the idea of reading a book on a computer screen. I’ll never change.

 

[Progster]

I prefer books, but do also use a Kindle. I don't have a problem with the Kindle screen, don't use my phone for this purpose, on my desktop and laptop from which I do read, I have the brightness turned right down and use F:lux for night reading. I also have Dark Reader installed, but don't always use it.

 

[BrokenBoy]

The screen is for virgins.

The paper is for chads.

 

[Alexej]

I prefer paper so I can mark the book, write on it, make my own notes.

It look me a long time to get able to do this to a book though

 

[FreeDiver]

I used to have a terrible time reading from screens back in the days of CRT monitors because they always flickered. When LCD's finally came around. It make reading from screens a whole lot easier.

 

[Daydreamer]

I actually prefer e-books over paper since it saves on space. The app I use for e-books allows for annotation / note taking but I've never used that feature. I don't have to wait for delivery time if I download an e-book VS ordering a paper version online. However, I'm not sensitive to light (I'm sensitive to other things such as smells and sounds but not light). I don't have any issues with comprehension and retention of information when reading from a screen, at least not any that I wouldn't also experience when reading from a paper book.

My mind automatically visualises what I'm reading, for me it's basically the same as watching a TV show. I've had brain farts where I've wondered what TV show I was watching before, only to remember that it was actually a book I was reading or a daydream I had.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

I prefer screens because it gives light, you can zoom in as I have trouble reading tiny words, and I don't have to worry about paged being messed up. Plus, I like the colorful words and lights. Dark mode is awesome! I havey phone in dark mode right now!

 

[Gracey]

I've yet to read a book from a screen.

I print off articles, studies & information to read at my leisure and mark up, highlight, add notes if I need to

The feel and smell of the paper is comforting.
I grew up with books, not screens.
The only cookies back then, we ate.
No spy ware and habit tracking in turning a page of a book.

 

[Booknerd515]

As someone who is obsessed with books and has to read them otherwise I will feel extremely worse mentally, it doesn't matter for me whether I read them on paper or digitally. I just choose which is closer to me. I have no issue reading books digitally, but sometimes the light sensitivity from that may bother me if I have a migraine as it has in the past. Otherwise the light sensitivity normally doesn't bother me. So perhaps it could be related to sensory, as I find when I am sensory overwhelmed I am more likely to go towards a paper book than a digital copy. However some books I have to read as digital because I get more new ones from the library that way and I read unpublished manuscripts as digital so I can review them so there's no way I can read those as physical books. My mind always visualizes what I read and sometimes the characters notice me but that could just be an overactive imagination.