The 20th Century saw many changes in the role books played in society.  In the beginning of the 1900s, the production of books increased as the cost of production decreased.  The increase in production led to many changes in the world of books.  There was an expansion of genres that were able to appeal to more types of people with a diversity of interests and experiences. Just as the 20th Century started with an increase in book production, it  ended with an increase in a multitude of other forms of media that posed as strong competition for society’s attention (Understanding Media and Culture). The modes in which both information and entertainment are shared is changing. I was born in 2000 and books play a much smaller role in my life than they did in my parents’ and an even smaller role in my life than they did in my grandparents’. When I Google information, they read it in a book. When I am tired after a long day, I wind down with a TV show, whereas my grandparents would read a book. For entertainment on a rainy day, I enjoy a movie marathon, whereas past generations would read. 

It is important to note however that there are still people in my generation who do prefer books to TV, and plenty of people who still choose to read even though that is not the only option for entertainment or information. Yet, as “Out of Print” discusses, what might the relationship between three or four generations from now with books look like? If we think about the fact that entertainment through video games, tv, and movies has only been available for about 100 years, and are only becoming more accessible, along the fact that the internet has only recently been made easily accessible at the touch of a finger tip, and we already see such a dramatic shift away from books, we can only imagine how this relationship between society and books will evolve as technology continues to improve. 

While TV, movies, video games and the internet can be seen as a replacement for the same entertainment and or informational uses that books have, there is something different about books. The brain comprehends the information differently based on the mode in which it is received. Reading takes more active attention than watching does. When we are watching something, without actively paying attention, the brain is not completely understanding it. Technology allows for more multitasking than reading does. Multitasking allows the brain to do more things at once, but it is doing those things to a lesser capability than if it were doing just one thing at a time. Thus, overall,  it is more productive to actively focus than to multitask. 

Reading will always be an important mode of information sharing for human beings. However, that does not mean that books will definitely survive. Reading can happen through various mediums and though I hope that books do continue to thrive, it is absolutely a possibility that books will die out and our reading will happen solely on screens, or whatever technology comes next.