EMI KOROITANOA
Technology has brought an onslaught of barriers to the literary world.
Founder of Vunilagi Book Club in Fiji, Mariana Waqa, said though technology has its advantages in connecting the world, it inflicts challenges to the world of literature.
“Sure, we can sit and read an eBook, a privilege not afforded to many Fijians, but it’s not the same is it?” Ms Waqa said.
“A book is an experience in of itself, the page-turning, the scent, the touch of the paper – it’s just different.”
She said technological distraction of not only children but adults is a reality of our times. “Children see their parents distracted on their phones so they’re likely to do the same and become addicted to the world of entertainment presented through the screen,” she said.
“It is no longer the bookworm tucked up between pages of a book, we have now entered into the time of the screenworm; children and adults mesmerized by images and sound protruding from their phones, tablets, and television screens.”
Furthermore, Ministry of Education’s director of Library Services of Fiji Merewalesi Vakarewa echoed similar sentiments, saying that the impact of technologies have captured the minds of the young. “Technology has limited them from reading and exploring the library with its wealth of knowledge,” Ms Vakarewa remarked.
She urges parents to ensure that they surround their children with books while they are growing up.
“So that they will feel and love the smell of books and pictures that they will get accustomed to,” she said.
“You will be surprised to see how fast and sharp minded with good listening skills he or she will acquire.”