Short answer is yes if you’re a book lover who plans to sit undistracted and fully immersed in your happy place. The answer is also yes if you feel screen addiction has overtaken you or your kids but you still want the convenience of a digital library. In this current age, there is a growing concern for screen time addiction, you’re probably quite familiar with this. Many would rather engage with their phone or iPad instead of the person present in front of them. So how do we detox from excessive digital device usage? Well first we need to understand how screens entice us.

Brain Chemistry

Screens are designed to grab our attention by allowing for fast interaction and maximising our engagement level. It is a “live” object that immediately responds to us. The bright colours, the buttons, the sound, the like, comment, message, anything else - all of these stimulate our senses and trigger dopamine release, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Every time something on-screen appeals to us, it reinforces this dopamine hit and lifts the threshold for the next reward. Which is why we continue to engage, the brain is looking forward to a bigger reward and so our actions feed into this positive feedback loop and this is essentially the 101 of addiction. So we scroll on our phones endlessly, there is no stopping point unless we practice self-control or take up a detox plan of some kind. I believe having an e-reader can be part of this detox plan. These devices are much simpler in features, and designed for one purpose; reading without distraction (or temptation I should say).

E-reader Technology & Features (such as Kindle or Kobo)

The screen display uses E-Ink technology, which mimics the appearance of ink on paper. Usually black and white, not backlit so there’s no blue light emission (though some have front lighting for low-light conditions). It is matte, therefore reducing glare and comfortable on the eyes for long reading sessions. Having said this, many of the latest e-readers do not completely eliminate blue light emission, but it is able to minimise them well.
An iPad on the other hand, uses an LCD/LED or OLED display with high resolution and color. The screen is backlit, so blue light is emitted which can cause eye strain over long periods, especially in low-light environments. The display is glossy, which can lead to glare in bright environments. There are also other eye health concerns with frequent blue light exposure you can read about at the end of this article.
Limited functionality beyond reading; some may offer basic web browsing or note-taking features.
Lightweight and portable, typically smaller than an iPad.
Many are waterproof.

Battery Life

E-Ink is highly energy-efficient, consume very little power giving e-readers much longer battery life that’s measured in weeks. The battery life of an iPad is measure in hours.

Price

E-readers range from USD $100 - $400. IPads can range between $250 to $1000 depending on the model and storage capacity.

The Health Concerns From Prolonged Blue Light Exposure

It would be negligent to not share about the health concerns of regular, constant blue light exposure from our digital devices. Our eyes do not filter out blue light well, most of it passes into the cornea and the lens, eventually hitting the retina. Too much of this may lead to retinal cell damage over time. In young children, their cornea and lens are less capable at filtering out blue light so they are most at risk. This can lead to myopia or nearsightedness (correction with glasses) and disruption to sleep pattern since blue light suppresses the production of melatonin especially in the evening. So children would be far more sensitive to these effects. Too much screen time can also lead to dry eyes as you tend to blink less, it can cause muscle strain and the ability to adjust focus becomes difficult. Finally, ongoing research is looking into how blue light-induced retinal damage is contributing to age-related macular degeneration, cataract and eye cancer. Sounds serious. Something we need to be aware of for ourselves and our loved ones. We can change our attitude and lifestyle towards healthier daily habits if we want to avoid going down this path.

Recommended Book Read:

#1 New York Times Bestseller

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. - By Dr. Jonathan Haidt

Do I really need an e-reader?

The Health Concerns From Prolonged Blue Light Exposure

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Do I really need an e-reader?

The Health Concerns From Prolonged Blue Light Exposure

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