Is internet really better substitute for books?

I came across a very interesting blog post this morning from a website that I have been following for some time because the owner always presents thought-provoking ideas about life and useful information in the world of technology.

The post was written in Indonesian, but basically it was talking about how the ease of finding information on the internet has made people have less interest and diligence in reading books. The concern of this issue was that information found on the internet is mostly not in the same depth of analysis or width of knowledge as books.

I have to say that I agree with this opinion, although, I have to put forward a slightly varying opinion too.

As a stay-at-home mother, I often feel that the need to find information about various things is more important than learning about one or two major things at a great depth. The reason for this is because the knowledge that I need to acquire is mostly for satisfying my children's curiousity about every thing they come across with every day.

Children's thirst for knowledge is so challenging these days that mothers like me can never turn away from any kind of information, while time constraint in any typical days makes it almost impossible to pursue any particular interest at great depth (it is even difficult to finish reading a book in-between daily routines).

One thing I luckily experience though, my husband likes to read and he forwards to me the important information from the books he reads and he highlights the important points throughout reading. That way, when I do have the time to open the book to search for any information at greater depth, I can do it much faster and right on the spot.

Reading books is VERY IMPORTANT, even in this era of advanced technology. What more important is the spirit of knowledge building and sharing, knowing that after receiving that little bit of information from the internet, we should have the curiousity like our children to always know more, and once we do have the knowledge, to share it with others.

Internet is a great starting point to find any kind of information we need to know at any point of time, even in the tiniest second a stay-at-home mother can spare, however, the process should not stop there. The thirst of learning and love for reading that we have developed from our younger years should be nurtured and passed down to our children.

I know that this is not an easy thing to do, considering the amount of interactivity the internet offers which attract us (and our children) more than books, plus, prices of books are much higher than monthly internet connection, but this is a challenge we need to overcome. One of the ways is by having a spirit of knowledge sharing, which we should start within our own family.

I believe this is really one dream worth fighting for.. :-)