Writing on the Web vs. Writing on Paper

As our society spends more and more time on computers, we have naturally moved towards all digital writing and away from books. For example, the vast majority of college students write research papers with solely digital sources. Not too long ago, books were the only thing people used to research.

Being the hands-learner that I am, I prefer to have a written document in front of me. With a printed piece of paper, I can visualize where I am on the page and I can make marks on the page to remember things. I also get distracted much easier if I am reading something on the computer screen.

A printed piece is more concrete and tangible. This means you can handle it, you can mark on it, and you can have an original piece. However, writing on paper takes longer to duplicate. It is also harder to reach as many people with a hard copy. It takes a long time to get from one place to another. Writing on the web can not be marked on, and it depends on internet connection and speed in order to get it. The good thing about writing on the web is that one copy can be viewed by an unlimited number of people at the same time. It takes no time to get from one person to the next and it can be posted instantly. The time issue has the biggest impact on its popularity. There is no time involved.

When transferring a piece of writing from paper to the web, it is important to include all of the structural characteristics as well as the text. It is easy to leave out the formatting on the internet, but that is an important part of a document. You also have to remember to document where the original source came from.

So even though I like to have a hard copy that I can mark on, I usually find myself sacrificing that for the speed and ease of reading something on the internet.