Friday, December 3, 2010

The Kindle was Made for Teenage Boys

No, it's not the newest porn delivery system.  In fact, I'd hazard to guess that it's probably not so good for the porn.  But I think that the Kindle and the Nook and all the other e-readers out there might be the best way for us to reach boys who don't read because of peer pressure.

There's clearly very little financial reason for publishers to consider more gender neutral covers or printing multiple covers, so that leaves teen boys having to either suck it up and buy the book that might get him bullied, or just not read.  As you've probably heard, lots of boys are choosing route 2.  I've talked about this before, so I won't go into it again.  But I think e-readers might be an elegant solution.

Not only are e-readers cool because they're portable and can carry a lot of books, but they're also gender non-specific.  A kid can sit in class, reading his Kindle, and no bully is going to know if he's reading some awesome biography or the latest, greatest vampire romance.  Not unless they steal the e-reader, which is a whole separate problem.  But think about it:  one of the major reason (I feel) that teen guys stray from YA is fear.  If no one can see what he's reading, I think it might help bring guys back to YA.

I don't know, just a thought.

4 comments:

  1. hahaha Shaun, as soon as I read your title, "The Kindle was Made for Teenage Boys," I thought, "Yeah, cause now they don't have to be embarrassed by holding a "girlie" looking book around their obnoxious friends.

    Never thought of that until you jarred the idea loose, but I think it's a great point.

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  2. Except they shouldn't actually be reading in class, should they? ;)

    It's a good point, though at this point, I think an e-reader may still be a bit too expensive for teens. But I know Kindle has phone apps, so that might be the way to go.

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  3. The fact it's a gadget and the newest electronic out there will entice the male population. I think guys jump on that bandwagon faster than girls do.

    If it encourages more reading, I'm all for it. (Hugs)Indigo

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  4. However, it's also interesting to point out that it's the romance genre that's experiences the biggest leap in e-book sales and digitizing of print editions. So the argument also exists that the Kindle was made for teenage girls/women so they didn't have to be embarrassed by the covers on their books either.

    Just a thought!

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