Surprising. A Voxburner poll found that 62% of young adults (ages 16-24) prefer printed books over ebooks.

When asked which products currently available for download were preferred as physical objects, 62% agreed with books. Magazines and newspapers collectively had 47% prefer the physical form. Considering magazines are considered more visually attractive due to its use of imagery and glossy paper, these statistics show text-heavy books still have an audience with young people.

One of the fascinating bits about the study is the affection people develop for printed books. Printed books, especially hardbacks, tend to have deeper design elements than their ebook counterparts.

There is less affection towards electronic versions of books. Whereas age is shown in the spine of each book – and commitment by the size of one’s bookshelf – digital files have no distinguishing characteristic. Most books adhere to the same fonts, as defined by the standards of ebook readers, and e-ink displays are void of any images besides the cover due to the lack of color.

Interesting. This is definitely true in my house. My kids rarely read ebooks, even though they have access to iPads and Kindles.