“Print is dead!” we’ve often heard with the rise of smartphones, tablets, and yes, even those fancy “e-ink” readers. However, according to a Pew Research Center survey, a majority of Americans still prefer print books to those of the digital variety.
Another interesting statistic that came out of the study is that a mere 6% are “digital only” book readers while 38% read print books exclusively:
While print remains the dominant factor, a noteworthy finding in the study unveiled a trend of digital readers swaying away from “ebook readers” toward “multi-purpose” devices such as smartphones and tablets.
But while print remains at the center of the book-reading landscape as a whole, there has been a distinct shift in the e-book landscape over the last five years. Americans increasingly turn to multipurpose devices such as smartphones and tablet computers – rather than dedicated e-readers – when they engage with e-book content. The share of e-book readers on tablets has more than tripled since 2011 and the number of readers on phones has more than doubled over that time, while the share reading on e-book reading devices has not changed. And smartphones are playing an especially prominent role in the e-reading habits of certain demographic groups, such as non-whites and those who have not attended college.
You can check out the study in its entirety, here.
(H/T: FastCoDesign)
