The struggle of being a bibliophile in a technology obsessed world

The generation born between the years 1982 and 2004 are defined as “millennials”. Members of this unique and often criticized generation have experienced such wonders as the creation of the international space station, the mass production of cellular, and now smart, phones and the constant evolution of sites such as YouTube and Facebook.

While these developments that have defined an entire generation of people have changed and enhanced lives in innumerable ways, they also have a negative impact that is often overlooked. With the constant evolution of technology has come the steady and notable decrease in interest towards printed books.

The decline of an industry

As technology develops and becomes more accessible to the average person, as it has in the past 20 years, sales of print books decrease. Since 2009, the era of the classic iPhone 3GS, print fiction sales are down 37 percent, while non-fiction print books are down 17 percent. These decreases display the impact of the rapid evolution of personal technology that has taken place in recent years.

With these declining numbers comes a mass exodus of bookstores in the mainstream economy. In 2004 there were 38,935 bookstores in the United States. As of 2015 that number was 25,254, a decrease of approximately 35%. Remember Borders? A causality of these declining statistics.

Book technology

By this point it’s pertinent to mention that yes, as technology has evolved, books have also been given a technological upgrade. Modern marvels like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook have taken the literary world by storm since their introduction in 2007. E-readers have been the bibliophiles saving grace in this age of cat videos and 140-character limit stories. They enable the avid reader to carry an entire library with them in one iPhone 6 Plus sized package.

While these little pieces of technological perfection are ideal in theory, they do find themselves lacking the physical aspects of books that true book nerds love. The smell of a new book, the feel of the pages, and the danger of reading within a half mile of water are all features missing from the “e-book revolution”.  For the average lit nerd e-books have had a relatively positive impact, permitting the ability to enjoy any book at any time from one compact device, however these electronic books do have a few shortcomings when held next to the real thing.

Separate perspectives

For many people in 2016, reading a book is the last thing they want to do. Why waste time reading when you can watch the movie adaptation, or goat videos on YouTube? Millennials are part of an era where it’s all to common to hear “I haven’t read a book since high school,” and where reading for any reason other than being held against your will is an altogether uncommon experience. While this new perspective on reading has had a profoundly negative impact on the print book industry, there still remains an elite few who patronize the bookstores, keeping the statistics from falling further. This elite squad of individuals – often called book nerds, lit nerds, or bibliophiles – view reading as a pleasurable pastime, something to be looked forward to and enjoyed, rather than despised. The sad truth is that the former group is growing in number as it becomes more acceptable to forgo reading in favor of watching hours worth of Vines.

In a time where the next great cat face plant compilation is as close as our smart watch, reading takes a backseat in mainstream entertainment. In a world where reading for pleasure is down over 15 percent since 1978, repercussions are felt in every facet of the book world – from publisher to reader. With all of the fantastic developments in personal entertainment technology that have taken place in the past ten years it’s only fitting that they receive the proper praise. In 2006 it was almost unthinkable that we could conduct social interactions from a device on our wrist or use a cell phone to create virtual reality scenarios – but in 2006 it was also unthinkable that the print world would decline as rapidly as it has.

Being a lit nerd in 2016 is a feat that requires an attention span of longer than six seconds, and a lot of devotion, but ask any #bookworm, it’s worth it.