Physical Books Still Matter in a Digital Age

Walk into any modern classroom today and you’ll likely notice laptops or tablets glowing from each student’s desk. Gone are the days of lugging heavy textbooks in backpacks, their spines worn from being opened and closed hundreds of times. Schools have slashed costs by putting textbooks online, making them available to scroll through with a few clicks.

From a budget perspective, it’s hard to argue with the savings. From a learning perspective, though, the picture is far more complicated.

Because here’s the thing: reading a physical book is not just about the words on the page. It’s about how our brain takes in, organizes, and stores information—a process called encoding. And encoding works best when it’s multisensory.

The Science of Encoding: Why Our Brains Love Print

Encoding is the brain’s way of gathering information from our senses, attaching meaning, and filing it away for future use. The more sensory input involved—touch, sight, even smell—the stronger and more accessible that memory becomes.

A physical book offers a rich sensory experience:

• The weight of the book in your hands.
  
• The texture of the paper under your fingers.
  
• The visual layout—where a piece of text appears on a page.
  

With print, even if you can’t recall the exact page number, you often remember roughly where in the book you read it because of encoding—“about halfway through the chapter, near the bottom left.”

An e-book, on the other hand, is an endless scroll or series of identical screens. Location cues vanish. That loss matters: a 2023 study found that comprehension is six to eight times better with physical books than with e-readers. The structure of a physical book naturally reinforces memory.

The Optional Nature of Reading in the Digital Age

Today, even when a book or article is assigned, there’s often a video version—or in some cases, a video requirement. It’s not unusual for students to watch a short clip instead of reading the original text, especially if it’s quicker and more entertaining.

Audiobooks and read-aloud features have opened doors for students who struggle with reading. That’s a good thing for accessibility. But they don’t require the same sustained effort or skill-building for fluency as reading text yourself. Over time, this can erode the ability to read and analyze more complex works as the effort of the foundations of reading (decoding, fluency, etc) remains high.

And then there’s AI. Tools that summarize articles or create study outlines in seconds are undeniably efficient. But when we outsource that kind of mental work, we also outsource part of the deep processing that cements learning.  The plus side is if you have 10 videos assigned to watch in two days on top of multiple other assignments, this can help make the volume of work (much higher than in the olden days!) more manageable.

A Cultural Shift Away from Long-Form Reading

Not so long ago, many households had built-in routines that encouraged reading because shops closed and businesses took a day off. Sundays might mean the whole family sitting around with books and newspapers while stores are closed. Board games, puzzles, and hobbies filled the rest of the day.

Now, screens have filled nearly every gap in the day. Waiting for dinner? Check your phone. Bored during commercials? Watch a reel on social media. There’s no natural pause in life that gently nudges us toward a book. Time for reading has shifted from being an assumed part of life to something that must be deliberately carved out.  I myself have shifted to audiobooks while I get work done around the house.  But multi-tasking as an adult is not the same as helping children build foundations in reading and reading comprehension.

Why Deep Reading Still Matters

If you want to develop expertise in any topic—whether it’s biology, history, or the philosophy of AI—you have to be able to read, understand, and remember long and complex material. Research publications, academic arguments, and professional literature aren’t designed to be skimmed like social media posts.

Deep reading isn’t just about understanding the text in front of you. It’s about building the mental stamina to wrestle with challenging ideas, analyze them critically, and apply them in new contexts. These are the skills that set apart innovators, leaders, and problem-solvers.

In a world overflowing with multimedia, this ability is not automatic. It’s something we have to protect and cultivate.  The better you can read and analyze, the more likely you are to be able to read across disciplines, forming your own opinions and thoughts for problem-solving, innovation, and collaboration.

Practical Ways to Keep Reading Skills Strong

If you’re a parent, educator, or student yourself, here’s how to keep deep reading skills alive in the digital age:

1. Mix formats intentionally – Use e-books or audiobooks for convenience, but also keep physical books in rotation—especially for longer, more complex material.
   
2. Set “uninterrupted reading” times and co-reading – Carve out 20–30 minutes a day with no screens and no multitasking to read with your child or read in the same room with your older children.
   
3. Annotate and engage – Underline passages, jot notes in margins, keep a journal, or use sticky notes. The act of interacting with the text strengthens encoding.
   
4. Go beyond summaries – If you use AI or video recaps, follow up by reading the original source of quotes or the context around a given quote/piece of content. Compare your understanding to what was summarized.
   
5. Model reading – Kids (and teens) notice what adults do. If they see you reading for pleasure, learning, following recipes, or figuring out how to do something from a manual, they’re more likely to follow suit.

The Conscious Effort Ahead

In an age where we can instantly stream, scroll, and skim, reading a physical book may feel like something “old people” do. But the benefits—better comprehension, richer memory encoding, and stronger critical thinking—are too valuable to let fade.

If we want the next generation to not only consume information but to deeply understand and apply it, then cultivating the habit of long-form reading is essential. It’s no longer a given. It’s a choice. And one worth making.

Because in the end, the ability to think deeply, reason critically, and retain knowledge isn’t just a skill for school—it’s a skill for life.

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* This blog was generated with AI support from the book content of Uniquely Human: Raising Leaders and Creators in an AI World and revised by the author.  Click here to be notified when the book becomes available.

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