This is interesting. Sales of my book ‘Nature and Wellbeing in the Digital Age’ have risen sharply recently, but most people are buying the paperback rather than the Kindle edition.
This is new.
I wonder why it’s happening?
Covid-19 has taught us the benefits of accessing nature through our devices and TV sets, and this book explains why that happens, so I’m not surprised that sales have gone up. But historically I’ve always sold at least 50% more Kindle copies than paperbacks, so why should people suddenly prefer a book that they can hold in their hands and turn the pages as they read? I’m very curious about this, not least because the book is all about digital experience!
Could it be that the isolation many of us have been through has reinforced a need for physical contact not just with other people, but with objects themselves? And how will this play out in the future?
I suspect that, much as we have learned how helpful technology can be, Covid has also taught us to value material contact more than we did before. We will never give up the digital, but perhaps we will understand it in a more mindful way now that we are learning how to consciously appreciate the feel of the real.
Sue Thomas 