”DET FINNS SÅ MÅNGA BÖCKER OCH SÅ LITE TID”. En kvalitativ intervjustudie om användningen av tryckta böcker, e-böcker och ljudböcker

Abstract

Nowadays, you can have an entire library in your pocket. The digitalization has contributed to a wide range of ways to consume literature and made it possible for users to choose between different types of formats. Apart from reading the traditional printed book, you can now consume literature by listening to an audiobook or read an e-book. This qualitive study tries to understand the underlying motives behind readers choices of book formats, based on two generations. Even though the printed book is read by most people, the use of e-books and audiobooks are steadily increasing. If this trend continues, the use of the digital formats could be the leading way for people to read in the future. This will change the media landscape as we know it today and probably leave a mark on society and the consumption of books. Therefore, we argue that this study is crucial in a societal perspective, because it is not only the readers, but also the publishers, authors and libraries future that can come to be affected. The topic is relevant for media and communication studies because all changes in the media landscape are always important to analyze. The increasing use of the digital media formats makes a difference in both peoples consumer habits and behavioral patterns, which is interesting for the field to know more about. To answer the purpose of the study, we have chosen two empirical questions. 1) What role do emotional factors play in the choice of book formats? And 2) What role do practical factors play in the choice of book formats? The theoretical framework is based on Uses and Gratifications theory and the theory of Mediagenerations. These are combined with previous studies about the three book formats as well as research about different narratives regarding the future of the book is used to analyze and compare our results with. Our analyzed material is built upon ten individual interviews with five respondents representing the younger generation and five the older generation. The selection criteria in our study were that the participating respondents had experience of using all three book formats, and had to be within the age range of 20-30 years old or 65-85 years old. We found that the use of the printed book was almost exclusively based on emotional factors. The printed books attributes like its scent and the feeling of physically holding it made the respondents feel safe, relaxed, and nostalgic. Furthermore, the printed book could be seen as a way of showing ones identity and was always treated with great respect. The practical factors weren’t many for the printed book, but functional attributes like taking notes on the pages at the same time as reading were useful. The emotional factors could partially explain the choice of using the audiobook. The respondents were emotionally affected by the voice of the narrator, for instance by the pace and tone of the voice. Another reason was that listening enabled reading for those who can’t visually consume literature, and therefore the audiobook feels more inclusive than the other formats. The practical factors were more prominent, mainly because it allows multitasking and thus saves time. The e-book did not seem to be driven by emotional factors other than in a negative sense. The e-book was often disregarded because the format felt like a substitute for the printed book and distractions were common when the respondents specifically read on smartphones. Therefore, the e-book was selected purely on functional factors. Being able to adapt the book to one’s own needs, such as changing the text size and the light on the screen, as well as the flexibility of reading whenever and wherever you want. The result did not show any distinct differences between the two generations answers about the book formats. The relationship to the formats were individual, but when we thematized the results, we saw that both emotional and practical factors behind the choices were primarily the same in both generations.