In the future, nobody will buy printed newspapers or books because they will be able to read everything they want online without buying. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
As the popularity of electronic devices such as smart phones and iPad grows, more and more people switch their reading habits from reading printed books to reading online. Some believe that paper books will eventually vanish from the market because reading online is free and more convenient, while others state that legislation on copyright will be better enforced to prevent such situation. I believe that the advance of technology is inevitable, and more people will adopt online reading.
First of all, the average book price ranges from 15 - 50 dollars before tax, which means that a considerable amount of money will be spent on purchasing books by readers. This will be an unfavourable financial burden on reading lovers, especially among young people who are at their golden age of learning. Given the realistic financial situation, more people prefer to search online, where ample and diverse reading materials are available. Most reading applications on iPad are not only free, but also very user friendly. Indeed, some applications demand a charge, but more and more companies are removing the charges to drive more traffic to their websites, which has been proved to be an effective business strategy.
Additionally, internet provides a much wider range of choices than brick-and-mortar stores, for the reason that almost every book with a paper version are digitized and commercialized in modern society. What is more, searching for a electronic book is much more convenient as well as efficient than going to a physical bookstore or placing an online order for a printed book from online platforms such as Amazon.
However, concerns on copyrights are claimed by many. The opposing voices state that authors’ income are jeopardized due to reduced sales volume and that many online resources lack proper legal copyright. While statement is true, the issue can be resolved by the corresponding government authority who can enforce the copyright law on the firms running the online reading platforms. For example, firms must buy copyrights from the authors beforehand, otherwise they will be penalized with a fine. Argument involving readers’ eyesight also remains popular, nevertheless, I believe that technology innovation on eye-friendly monitors like LCD (liquid crystal display) will gradually cease such debate.
To sum up, the fact that online reading material being endorsed by a growing number of readers is an inevitable social trend. Although some concerns on copyright as well as public eyesight exist, they will be resolved by improved government regulation and advanced technology. Besides, the companies can use advertising as their primary income stream just like how Google profit, so they do not necessarily charge their clients directly. Eventually, reader will have free access to every book online, whereas paper books will vanish.
Notes:
Ample and diverse reading material
Drive more traffic to the website
Amazon 全球最大的线上购物平台
convenient
IPad is user friendly
a user-friendly iPad （在名词前面加连字符）
Jeopardize
sales volume
pirate copy 盗版
anxiety
inevatible
liquid crystal display （LCD） 液晶屏幕
Dissent 持异议
Dissenter 持异议者 复数：dissenters
Claim, debate, argument, state
Company, firm, corporation, business
Nevertheless 尽管如此
Income stream 收入渠道
brick 砖
mortar 泥
brick-and-mortar store 实体店（通常与网店对应）