This article attempts to make the point that by reading an e-book (such as the Amazon Kindle or the iPad), people who are reading in public are now more approachable. The author states that people reading in public often seem unapproachable or "too busy to talk." He makes the point that when people are reading e-books rather than paper books, one might be more apt to approach them and engage them in conversation.
I do not however, necesssarily agree with this statement. Whether someone is reading a paper book or has an e-book in front of them, the majority of people are not going to interrupt that person. In our society, interrupting someone is considered very rude -- no matter what he happens to be holding.
The author also attempts to prove that e-books are removing the stigma of reading in public and seeming to be a "loner." I do not see a difference in reading a book or an e-book; either way, one is reading. I did not even realize there was a stigma of reading in public, but a dermatologist the author interviewed stated that "there may have once been a slight stigma about people reading alone, but I think that it no longer exists because of the advancement of our current technology." I do not understand how technology could simply remove a stigma of reading alone in public; even with a Kindle or the iPad, one is still reading in public.
1 comment:
I understand why some people may assume that reading in public is a stigma, but I feel like if I saw someone reading a book that I was interested in or had already read and liked, I would be much more likely to talk to them because we'd have something in common. I doubt that I would ever go up to some one I didn't know and try and start a conversation randomly, but like I mentioned before, I'd be more likely to if it was obvious that we had something in common. E-readers don't afford that opportunity though. Personally, I feel that e-readers would make people less approachable because you have absolutely no idea what they are doing or even reading.
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