Done by: Lydia Tan 10S7N

Q5 ‘The book has no place in modern society.’ Discuss.

The rapid advancement of technology, coupled with an increasingly fast-paced living

environment, has drastically changed the lifestyles of people living in the 21 st century. As a result of a
relentless chase for economic pursuits, the realists of modern society will claim that indeed there is no
room for traditional print books as there hardly is time for leisure reading in a frenetic lifestyle.
Moreover, with exponential changes in technology, conventional books have gradually been replaced
by the advent of electronic-books or E-books. In spite of these, traditionalists who support the
continuum of conventional paperbacks may assert that books still hold a place in modern society due
to the need to acquire abundant knowledge and to retain a sense of tradition that cannot be easily
erased. The context of modern society may indeed have devalued the worth of books, nonetheless, I
disagree that these conventional books will be completely eradicated, leaving no place in today’s
society.

Detractors of conventional books will vouch that a hectic lifestyle leaves no room for books.
This may be true to books that provide a source of entertainment. With the persistent chase for
economic pursuits, such as that in terms of making money and rising up the corporate ladder, many
employed workers do not see the need for reading novels due to the lack of obvious economic
reasons and perceived impracticalities. There is also no spare time for them to churn out a book, just
so to appreciate its literacy value or to thoroughly assess its plot. Furthermore, in a technologically-
savvy society, majority of people may not choose to read a book during their leisure time, but choose
to explore social networking sites such as Facebook that provide them with a greater sense of
enjoyment and satisfaction, in comparison to the mundane act of reading books. Moreover, books
such as ancient classics, History books and Literature texts are beginning to lose their value in a
contemporary society. While works of Shakespeare and Charles Dickens may have been revered by
people in the past for its exquisite poems and Classics respectively, it is not so the case in today’s
society. People living in the 21st century no longer subscribe to these forms of books because they
serve no purpose and relevance to the lifestyles of people today. Hence, except in schools where
these books are used as study material, this genre of books may thus be gradually losing their place
in this time and age.

On the flip side of the argument, in today’s knowledge-based economy, knowledge is a tool to
help an individual progress and keep up with the constant changes and improvement in society.
Books are thus necessary platforms for the impartment of knowledge and skills to the masses. For
instance, self-help books have been increasingly well-received by the public, especially the employed
who wish to upgrade themselves in order to maintain a level of competitiveness in a cut-throat,
fiercely competitive society. For example, the self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey titled “The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since its
first publication in 1989. In addition, modern society has engendered a population that questions
much more than before. People living in the 21st century are more predisposed to questioning why
things work, rather than how things work. It is thus through books that help quench their thirst for
knowledge and satisfy their mounting doubts and curiosity. The book “Purpose Driven Life”, authored
by Rick Warren in 2002, has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for advice books for one of
the longest periods in history, with over 30 million copies sold by 2007. The book is extremely popular
as it offers readers the answers to burning questions such as “What on Earth am I here for?”, albeit in
a Christian point-of-view. Evidently, in a modern society that thrives on acquiring knowledge, books
are important as they provide a rich source for one to attain knowledge, skill and information directly.
While it is true that the rise of New Media has resulted in an easier attainment of a much wider spread
of data, it is unfair to discredit the fact that books have no prominent position in today’s society, given
the exponential rise in sale of books, especially self-help books.

However, the advent of E-books which refers to the digital version of a conventional print
book, has rendered the latter irrelevant in modern society. An E-book is usually made available
through the Internet via digital libraries and can be read via a computer or a portable book display
device known as an e-book reader such as the Sony Reader or the Amazon Kindle. In today’s society,
where 89% or more of people living in developed countries such as Japan have access to Internet,
these e-books are a better substitute than the conventional print books due to their relative
convenience and versatility. While conventional print books require readers to carry the weight of the
books, e-books on the other hand are light, mobile and easily accessible via technological devices
such as the latest IPhone. In an era where convenience is highly sought after to increase productivity,
authors are opting to publish their works online to avoid the high costs of warehousing and printing.
Also, more readers are opting for e-books as they provide a similar reading experience but at a
greater convenience. Nonetheless, e-books cannot replace paperbacks completely as not all
conventional books have an electronic version. In addition, e-books have their own limitations such as
being vulnerable to virus which can only attack these “virtual” books and being heavily subjected to
one’s tastes and preferences. Thus, while reading of e-books may be perceived as a popular trend in
modern society, it cannot be justified that as a result of this phenomenon, the conventional books
have been slowly diminishing.

The amazing history of conventional print books- from the evolution of scrolls used by Ancient
Romans and Chinese to the modernised jacketed book of the 21 st century- goes to show that even
with technological influences and changes in lifestyles, it is not an easy task to eradicate books or
discard their place in today’s society. While modernisation that is evident in the advent of e-books
may be inevitable, books, depending on their genres, still hold a significant place in the world and
provide readers the avenue to expand their intellectual horizons and knowledge capacity. Thus, it is
not true to simply claim that ‘the book has no place in modern society’.