Readers of ‘Revenge of Analog’ agree: Paper is better than pixels

You can talk about books on Facebook, but recently members of the FYI Book Club had actual face time to share thoughts on “The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter” by David Sax. And everyone chose the print format; there wasn’t a Kindle in the room.

One of Kansas City’s largest record emporiums, Josey Records in the Crossroads Arts District, hosted the group.

“I see the record industry sticking around for a while,” said Britt Adair, the store’s events coordinator. “There’s something intimate about a record — scanning the liner notes, looking at the album cover artwork, reading the lyric sheets. Even shopping for records. People like flipping through the albums and discovering a new band. Folks want something tangible to hold when they listen to the music.”

This is the theme of Sax’s popular examination of digital and analog culture and how both enhance and support the other. Readers all had a story to share about an analog item they still cling to in a digital world:

▪ “I still print out documents to read,” said Howard Wilkens of Kansas City, North. “Need to hold the pencil to edit them. It’s easier for me to work like this.”

▪ “No battery life to worry about with analog!” said Ashley Tebbe of Kansas City. “I’ll be in an airport and see 10 people huddled around an outlet charging their devices. A book, magazine or newspaper doesn’t need to be charged.”

▪ “I prefer reading a physical newspaper than a digital one,” said Peggy Martinez of Kansas City. “I’ll go deeper into an article if it’s in paper. If I’m online, I’ll only read the headlines and a couple of paragraphs.”

“David Sax mentioned that in the book,” noted Penny Mahon of Prairie Village. “People will read longer and deeper in print than they will online.”

Mike Dean of Shawnee agreed: “I notice that I linger longer with my analog things. It’s too easy to get distracted while I’m trying to read something online.”

The author dropped in via conference call to take questions.

“There used to be some shame in using analog things,” Sax said. “Now it’s back in vogue. We’re seeing that a balanced approach is more valuable in our lives. We live in a post-digital world. The technology isn’t going away, it’s the standard, but analog things have a different purpose and value. The connections they forge between people. People want those connections, so the desire for analog things is growing.”

Readers talked about the allure of paper that Sax mentions in the chapter on the popularity of Moleskine journals and notebooks among artists and designers.

“As a graphic designer,” Tebbe said, “eight hours on a computer gets tiring very quickly. I stopped using the planner on my phone and started using a journal. I wanted to be creative and take notes.”

Jordan West of Overland Park said, “I have always taken notes on a notepad. There’s a synergy between your mind and doing things with your hands. Solely focusing on a book or a newspaper or sitting in class and taking notes, that imprints things in my mind. I can better commit information to long-term memory.”

The mention of school turned the conversation to one of the more intriguing chapters in the book on education and technology.

“Sax nailed it when he said the promise of computerized education has never been met,” Wilkens said. “Nothing replaces individualized comprehension and one-on-one.”

West preferred learning in person to online. “You absorb the information more. You have to work harder for it, so it sticks in your mind more. Digitization doesn’t seem to require the same amount of effort in absorbing and learning the information.”

“Sometimes there’s a dehumanizing factor to digital learning,” Dean said. “Socialization skills are lacking. Part of being human, and part of going to school, is interacting with each other.”

Ron Stewart of Liberty drew everyone’s attention to the chapter on board games. “There are things we do around a ‘social campfire,’ like playing cards or board games, that promote a sense of fellowship and improve teamwork and communication. You can miss some of those social cues with online games.”

Martinez said, “That was how my family got to know some relatives we didn’t know well. Pictionary and Clue. Games foster relationships. They help you connect and get to know people.”

Henry Fortunato of Overland Park offered closing thoughts on the book. “Sax states the revenge of analog is occurring because the technology is so good. In fact, I believe it’s happening because digital technology has become so annoying. Each chapter demonstrates how, in a variety of venues, the digital version is far less satisfying than the analog experience. So maybe it’s not so much revenge of analog as a return to analog, a growing rejection of the false dawn of the digital era.”

“I love technology,” Martinez said. “I have an iPhone, computer, Google Fiber. But analog things are easier to use. I need analog things to keep my life simpler.”

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 10:26 AM with the headline "Readers of ‘Revenge of Analog’ agree: Paper is better than pixels."