Paper or Digital?
My friend was on Minecraft for the 20th time this quarter. In class, I see her go on the computer to play games every single time the teacher’s back is turned. I feel that textbooks and books should not be replaced by any type of electronics because laptops are fragile ,costly, distracting, and environmentally unfriendly.
First of all, laptops can be really distracting. The students can go online, play games, and text. But not only that, other kids around the one with the laptop can become abstracted. Furthermore, some websites students go on are inappropriate or have inappropriate ads on them which is not good for students. On the other hand, books allow kids to focus more since paper cannot lead to social media, games, or other websites.
Computers, tablets, or any type of electronics are all costly and very fragile. Electronics are not only more expensive than textbooks but are far more costly to maintain. A textbook may go through years and even a decade or more of usage, if handled properly, without needing to be replaced. But because tablets are so fragile, it's most likely that in the hands of careless students, they would need constant repair and replacement in just a few short years, either from accidental drops, vandalism, or worse. Also, the operating system would need upgrading throughout the years, adding to the costs of maintenance. Compared to a textbook, which might cost $50-$100 at the most per student, a laptop would easily cost triple that over the course of its lifetime.
http://online-education-degrees.org/2013/06/05/tablets-replace-textbooks-classroom/
On the other hand, some may argue that textbooks and paper are made from trees, and that is clearly harming the ecosystem since cutting down trees is bad for our environment. Nevertheless, the metal and plastic used to produce computers are just as bad for the environment because it would take years to decompose. For textbooks, you can recycle the paper used to print the book. Factories that make the computers are releasing CO2 into the air and, therefore, breaking the ozone layer even more. But not only that, in eastern Congo today, the mineral used to produce electronics are financing multiple armed groups, many of whom use mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations, thereby securing control of mines, trading routes, and other strategic areas.
Like I stated before, electronics are costly to maintain and replace. Though you might end up chopping down some trees, you will save a lot more than money in the end. Replacing books with laptops have more negative effects rather than being more efficient.
