Yes, my eyes shrivel up with the onslaught of the strain of reading text on a back lit screen. I do enjoy the optional convenience of hi-liting , folding, and being able to go back to a stable chapter I started a month ago. Regardless, I must say my attention span has dramatically been squandard due to internet reading as a whole.

As off beat this may sound, I feel we are just experiencing the beginning of a new paradigm which has yet to surface fully. I can’t wait for the physic computer, where and when I can basically download copious knowledge instantly into my conscious mind. I feel the effort to learn, and the absorption of learning via reading is soo outdated. ha,ha.. sOrry..

The reality is, the effects of information distribution via online sources is uncharted territory. This is still an experiment on a global level unto the populace. We don’t understand the effects at all. It has and will continue to marginalize people in terms of attention spans, as well the way we read real books. I DO know people who read real books alot, and it honestly amazes me . I read an article in Scientific America a while back on the future of the physical book and how bioluminescence technology will be used ( and is being developed) in conjunction with a page system as a medium for information.. So yeah, its a matter of time before what we understand as a book, is a relic of yesteryear.

Personally, I find that the more tangible the text the easier it is to read and get lost in it. I think that on a whole, books are far more appropriate for extended reading simply because of the portability of a book (or almost any other printed text for that matter). While texts online are usually no further than the nearest computer, a printed text is readily available at hand.