But in the last few years, I no longer read from that Bible. Instead, I read at least a chapter a day from an online, digital Bible. Instead of handwriting my thoughts and notes on the hard copy pages of a Bible, I type them up in a word document each day.
We live in a society that is slowly becoming more digital every day. There were over one billion eBook users worldwide in 2021. The Statista Digital Market Outlook estimates that by 2026 this figure will increase to 1.18 billion.
But the change is happening at a very slow rate. A study by Stora Enso has found that 65% of people still prefer to read from a physical book, as opposed to 21% who prefer e-books.
Millennials and Gen Zers tend to read e-books more than previous generations. A survey in 2021 revealed that 42% of people between 18-and-29-years-old had read an e-book in the last few months.
So which is better for kids? Hard copy or e-book? Print or digital?
Here are a few things to consider:
The Bible is God's Word no matter what format it is written in. A digital Bible on an iPad is just as much God's Word as a hard copy version.
Kids are used to seeing God's Word in a digital format at church. Most verses are put on screen in children's worship and worship in the adult service. While some people may look up the verse, the majority simply read it from the screen.
Studies do show that reading comprehension is better with physical books that e-books. Although young people may read more quickly on an e-book, people remember and retain what they are reading better in physical books.
Print Bibles are not going anywhere anytime soon. In 2012, there were 591 million hard copy books sold. In 2022, that number has risen to 788.7 million. This means print copy books grew by 33.45% during this time frame.
Digital Bibles get read more. A survey by Quick Reads indicates that readers tend to read more and stick with books if they are using an e-reader.
Many children are reading books and magazines on their smartphone or tablet. Gen Zers collectively spend 23 billion minutes per month reading digital content on their smartphone. 67% of Gen Zers say they read books on their smartphone.
Covid dramatically impacted the reading habits of the next generation. 35% of Gen Zers say they read more today than they did before Covid.
There are advantages and disadvantages with both formats.
So which Bible format do you use with kids? Digital or print or both? This is something each ministry must decide for themselves.
Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
