The past few years have seen a resurgence in reading and in ebooks.
Whereas just a decade ago, book sales were dipping due to demand pivoting towards video content, public interest has gone back to the written word.
On popular social media sites, trends like BookTok and YouTube book review videos are very successful. Even the film and television industry has been paying more attention to books, with bestsellers such as It Ends WithUs being adapted into hit movies.
Interestingly, while younger audiences are among the most vocal readers today, an article about reading in The Highlander reveals that women aged 45 and up are responsible for the majority of book sales.
Despite this, it seems that the literary world is not necessarily providing enough materials and interventions to make reading more enjoyable for this demographic.
“On popular social media sites, trends like BookTok and YouTube book review videos are very successful.”
Fortunately, while physical books may not be the most user-friendly for mature women, ebooks are. With their unique benefits and features, ebooks are poised to make reading more convenient and fulfilling for older women. Here’s why:
Highly Diverse Selection:
Given that mature women have more life experience under their belt, it’s only natural that their reading interests will be aptly colorful. As it happens, ebooks can satisfy all these interests, given that they come in digital libraries where you can enjoy a diverse range of titles.
If you take a look at the selection of ebooks on Everand, a popular ebook subscription, you’ll find that there are millions of titles across dozens of genres. These include everything from classics, like George Orwell’s 1984, to contemporary bestsellers like TV host Anderson Cooper’s Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty.
Depending on the ebook provider, you may find exclusive titles like New York Times-published writer Anne Helen Petersen’s highly-rated The Moms Are Not Alright: Inside America’s New Parenting Crisis. Unlike physical books that require you to scour various sites or stores just to find the books you want, ebooks across all niches are yours to download for online and offline reading in just a few clicks.
Eye-Friendly Settings:
Studies have found that aging impacts how people read. Women, in particular, have been found to exhibit new reading habits over time. Research shared by the National Library of Medicine states that this includes using lexical knowledge and context clues to guess upcoming words and skipping words that appear with more frequency.
Additionally, since eyesight can diminish with age, some people find reading challenging with lighting and text size issues. This is where ebooks come out on top again since many ebook readers and software are designed to make reading more comfortable. For instance, Amazon features larger, low-vision-friendly font size options, dyslexia fonts, and warm lighting in its Kindle e-readers.
Similarly, the ebook platform Kobo allows you to leave notes and make passage highlights, which can then be categorized for later review. These all make the act of reading easier while also helping improve comprehension.
Economical Price Points:
Earlier this year, Fidelity Investments revealed that 93% of women worry about money.
Unfortunately, books tend to be rather costly, especially if the title is a limited edition, in demand, or requires shipping.
On the flip side, ebooks are much more economical. For a price similar to that of a single hard copy, you can enjoy access to an entire platform of ebooks that are yours to keep with no limit. Alternatively, you can even find free ebooks from Hoopla and Libby. So long as you have a valid library card and your local library supports these apps, you can “borrow” any ebooks you want.
Granted, these copies are not yours, so they’re subject to availability and will need to be returned, but it’s still a lot cheaper than having to buy multiple physical copies that you may even have to spend extra on just to create storage spaces.
More Opportunities To Connect:
Loneliness is one of the most common struggles that mature women face. Whether it’s because they’re now empty nesters, learning to adapt to retirement, or anything else that has affected their lifestyle, midlife and senior women are prone to feeling socially cut off.
To remedy this, midlife expert Deb Johnstone recommends reforging a sense of connection. Instead of looking to connect just for the sake of it, though, it’s best to find mediums wherein you can explore and share your emotions with yourself and others. As it happens, ebooks are also a great way to do this. On one hand, they can provide you with the necessary knowledge that can help you navigate your own feelings.
“As it happens, ebooks are also a great way to do this..”
Ebooks like David Burns’ Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, for instance, can walk you through the complex realities of the mind.
At the same time, ebooks can be a shared interest that you can bond over with others. On the social community app Fable, members can both acquire ebooks and join in-app book clubs. Here, you can find like-minded souls with whom you can make genuine connections through various titles, including self-published indie reads.
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