No more heavy backpacks?


I had this image of school children walking to school with just a small messenger bag with a notebook (I mean small laptop).  I am talking about lunch bag being the heaviest item the kids
carry to school.  But the reality is that, small children are seen hauling heavy backpack with their shoulder bent forward slightly in response to the strong pulling they feel from the weight of heavy books. My son is not an exception for he is not the toughest built sort of a kid and some days, I know he has difficulty lifting his backpack to put it on his back. I am strongly considering a rolling sturdy backpack to give him for Christmas if I can find one I like. 

But the image I saw of kids going to school without a backpack is probably not far away in the future. For their developing frame, it may be a helpful thing but why did I think about this? 

 I am seeing more people reading books on Kindle when I am in the air. Although, I have not seen the new one coming out by Barnes and Noble called, Nook, or another from Sony, the eBOOK is shaking the environment for the writers, publishers and customers.  E books a bit cheaper than hardcover new books so some customers find it more attractive. But, I am sure publishers don't always agree with that. Putting this aside, I just decided to imagine a world with paperless text books. This is all what if,,, but, what if publishers decide to tap into the text book market for younger children one day? It is not just college that assignments are increasingly posted or submitted electronically, right? So, e text books for all younger students would definitely be possible, especially, these kids are computer savvy.   I know someone is already thinking about this, especially if I am thinking about it!!!   When the textbooks are replaced by something like Kindle or Nook, there is another industry that I think may be affected. 

LL Bean, Pottery Barn, Land's End would have a crunch on their backpack sale, which will be huge!!!!  They will replace the lost sale with something else, I am sure. What demand would they create in place of backpack sale? Kindle case?  

If people possess less books, could that also affect demand for book shelves? Would furniture stores have an overstock of book cases? Well, then, maybe I can finally afford nice bookcases that I would like! 

We had about 100 boxes for just books when we moved 4 years ago. Moving company charge based on the weight so moving would be more economical for us in the future if we did not have all these "books". There is another area that books going weight less may influence. 

I am not necessarily for e book alone world. I like books, I love flipping through pages instead of scrolling up and down. I love beautiful bookcases and stately appearance of old books thoughtfully displayed. So I have a bit of mixed feelings about this increasing trend of e books taking over the world.  But I can not help but attempting to see into the future of all of our BOOKS. Someone would say, kids text books would never go paperless, because the cost of electronic devise for each child would be a burden for the family. I just chuckled,  people have historically, since the birth of nintendo,  invested in game devises that cost as much as kindle or more than kindle. So, we will see. 

Personally, I am quite happy that books are around! It takes up room in your house but some books are precious!  I have a few books at home that I consider priceless. My grandmother compiled my grandfather's memory, letters, journal entries and published a book long ago.  My grandmother signed in the inside cover and gave it to each of her son and daughter. So the copy I have was given to my mother 40 yrs ago. Something about the hand written note in the book makes me wonder........ 
You can alway E sign a book!?? Would E signed book warm your heart down the generation like this books does to me?   To think that my grandmother's hand rested on the inside cover of this book while she left a short note for each of her child makes the book far more precious than the book itself. Some things can never be replaced with advanced technology, or an advanced technology could never mimic the true human touch.  And,  if the battery is gone or the devise malfunctions you are not only out of touch with the reality of the novel but out of luck. Or Kindle never malfunctions? 

For a child who has ferocious reading energy, kindle or no kindle, that is not the question. He will still enjoy reading and it makes me wonder if I should get one for him. Especially for our upcoming trip that would take us from Louisiana to Vermont/New Hampshire, not having to carry a dozen of books may give us an extra room in the back to fill with Christmas Cookies and Candies. I am not kidding, I won't be surprised if my son finishes reading a backpack full of books one way up. I keep thinking about Kindle!!! But No to it for now. 

Comments

proud granny said…
No for me, unless I get a laptop. I read in bed at night. I would still prefer the hard copy, don't like reading the computer screen. Mom
December 17, 2009 at 11:08 AM
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