Amazon’s E-reader and Tablet – Kindle
E-readers, phone reading apps, and tablets have changed the reading landscape. Publishers now forecast e-readers and tablets to compromise 50% of the revenue market by 2020 of all books and magazines published.
David Renard, an industry executive, stated, “We forecast that by 2020 there will be more than 1.1 billion tablets and e-paper e-readers in use worldwide, and more than 260 million in the U.S. alone. Over the next 7 years, this will represent more than 50 percent of our revenue as an industry. We are in the initial stages of a revolution in publishing . . .” (source).
While there are many advantages to e-readers and tablets causing this growth, there is also one danger that Christians should note. The danger is that they do not have a cover! You see you can read whatever you want to be reading in a public space and no-one else will know what you are reading. It allows for discreet and private reading of books, magazines, internet, and blogs without allowing others to see what you are reading.
This has been seen as a primary factor in the explosive sales in the erotic or pornographic fiction series 50 Shades of Grey. One industry insider in discussing the book stated, ““Romance and erotica have been at the forefront of the e-book revolution because you can take e-books anywhere without telltale lurid covers revealing your reading habits,” (source).
Christians need to be aware of this temptation afforded to satan by this technology. Parents should monitor what is read and viewed on e-readers. One way Christians can set up protection is to share their device OR there online retailer account with others. For example we have one Amazon account and one iTunes account as a family to purchase Kindle or ibooks. This makes the books available on all of our devices, but it also creates a protection that everyone knows what is being read.
Typically satan wins, when people are able to enjoy things privately without the accountability of others. Paul said, “walk as children of light . . . take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful to even speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible.” (Eph. 5:8-14).
Let us not fall victim to the darkness, but expose our screens to the light!
Josh
