By Chung Ah-young
Are smartphones and books friends or foes? Smartphones, the touch-screen devices that allow users to access the Internet as well as a wealth of applications and content, had been foreseen by some as the death knell to the book market.
But a closer look at the reading habits of tech-savvy Koreans shows that such predictions may have been premature, as the increased consumption of content for digital devices actually appears to be giving book sales a boost.
The recent survey conducted by the Reading Management Institute of Kyobo Bookstore, the country’s largest book retailer, shows that the annual number of books read by office workers rose from 11.8 in 2009 to 15.5 in 2010.
The survey was based on 1,000 adults living in the country’s five biggest cities, where the penetration of mobile Internet devices like smartphones and touch-screen tablet computers is greater than other places. The study indicates that, at least for now, books seem to have staying power.
The findings are different from the omens of doomsayers and critics who had expected a big blow to the publishing industry.
Smartphones are taking over thanks to the popularity of intriguing gadgets like the Apple iPhone and Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S. An increasing number of users are exploiting the connectivity of their handsets to download digital versions of books.
“Last year, concerns over a possible discouragement of reading due to the craze for mobile devices dampened the book market. But rather, people read more books than the previous year and they plan to read 22.5 books this year, the survey found. These findings show that digital handsets have affected the reading habits by getting rid of the physical limitations with more access, portability and convenience,” Song Young-sook, head of the institute, said.
Among the total respondents, 39.6 percent use smartphones and other digital devices. The institute conducted an in-depth survey on the tech-savvy to further question the effects on their reading habits.
Of the gadget users, 55.5 percent said that they read almost the same number of paper books as before they used the devices, while 22.5 percent answered that they read more printed books than the previous year. Only 22 percent said that they had read fewer.
“It shows readers’ loyalty to paper books still remains firm and at the same time, the use of digital devices doesn’t seem to hamper reading,” the institute said.
In real life, Kim Soo-mee, 34, an office worker, uses her smartphone every morning on the subway to read on the go. “While on the move, I usually read novels on my smartphone because it’s easy and I don’t have to carry a heavy book around,” said Kim.
She reads more books than before she got the smartphone due to its convenience and easy access to many choices. “But I still love printed books because my eyes tire easily when I read through the not-so-big screen,” she said.
“The gadget has affected me in a good way. I mean it gave me wider choices of reading through a myriad of choices of books,” she said.
Kim said that cheaper cost of downloading content than buying traditional books is part of the reason for reading more books, particularly English material through the Kindle application. And she is now pondering whether she should buy an e-book device for more comfortable reading.
“Before I use a smartphone, I was a loyal reader of paper books. But it was very uncomfortable to hold a heavy book when I commuted. At the same time, I was not sure whether I was ready to use a digital device. But after using a smartphone, I want to buy an e-book reader,” she said.