Paper VS Screen

Do you prefer to watch a movie or surf the internet instead of reading?

I asked a few people this question and most of the people I asked prefer a screen to paper.

There was a lengthy discussion on this topic which I happened to listen to.

The virtual (online) world has such a strong presence and most people have willingly embraced it. Some people tend to be more active in the virtual space especially social media than they are in reality. Their social lives and things happen for them in the virtual space. On the other hand, in reality, some of these people will not participate physically in social activities.

During events, take a look around, when people get bored; phones are easy alternatives to get rid of the boredom.

‘I have the tendency to put people I see who always have something to do on their phones in a box and I really do not want to have anything to do with them’. That was the response I got from someone I asked what he thought about this new trend. He further explained by using an example. He was at a business dinner once and there was someone at the table who had nothing to contribute to the entire conversation but was on her blackberry the whole time. He was sure to state that in most cases, when a man is on his phone, it can be assumed that he is taking care of business but when a woman is on her phone, not many people would think that she is taking care of business. I asked if this wasn’t far too prejudiced but he stood his ground.

Would you blame him? It’s his opinion, which he is entitled to.

There are some however who are still holding onto physical libraries, some people said ‘It’s different when you hold a book, you can feel it and smell it. But, reading on a screen for me is boring as everything looks the same’. 
‘I can take a book with me wherever I want to go and stay in whatever position I choose but a computer has restrictions’.

Where I live, I have noticed that many people of the younger generation are lazy when it comes to reading and it is has a negative impact on our perception of things. Allow me to explain;

reading books however we choose to look at it builds vocabulary up. I remember when I just started reading novels, I would always have a dictionary beside me because I would always find new words. I derived satisfaction for some reason whenever I finished the novel. There are certainly other ways to learn new words but this is one sure way. Apart from vocabulary, if reading is not restricted to a particular area, the reader learns about other places, cultural diversity and so much more.

I have a friend (BTW I'm writing this with her knowledge of course *wink wink*) whose obsession is the Entertainment channel and all she reads are Hollywood stories. She has no clue to current events in her own country. How smart is that?   

Talking about life online, I heard someone say that her fear today about the social media bug is that we are bringing up the next generation of people who have absolutely no respect for privacy. I fully agree with her.

Take a look at some of your friend’s information on facebook for instance; you’ll notice that so much information is shared. Some people put up their home addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and everything that is worth knowing about a person. So…are these people asking for a robbery or for stalkers? As funny as this may sound, some people are actually ignorant of the amount of harm they can bring to themselves by exposing that much information to the public.

With the BlackBerry Messenger for example, requests to be contacts from unknown people are accepted all the time. It may be a good thing or a bad thing. You be the judge!

Personally, I ignore requests from people I do not know on any social platform. Even if I know the person and we do not have a ‘relationship’, I do not see any reason why I should add such a person to any contact list of mine. I also clean up my contact lists every now and then. With time, you grow apart from some people, with others, you simply do not have anything to say to each other anymore or there are some who just occupy space and you are never in touch. I get insulted for that from time to time but I really do not mind :-)

I am guilty of some of the things I have mentioned above but these are thoughts worth sharing. What do you think?