The Psychology of Human Wants for Paper

I discussed in my previous article Society's addiction to paper.

The 21st century is thought to be the beginning of a paperless society. However, the statistics are glaring, the amount of information printed on paper (documents and postal mails) is still increasing specially those individuals in offices.

The following parapraghs describe the deeply-rooted culture of dependence on paper and papar-based products.

Here it is:


“People still like something they can grasp in their hands to view, read, contemplate and reflect on. But the bigger question is: how will the young crowd growing up in their technological, computer-driven society live their lives – possibly without paper clutter? Another question is how far will this ongoing innovative technology develop, spilling over into control of people’s lives – and what will this do to our humankind nature? How will it affect us globally?” 1

“Technology certainly allows people to access far more information electronically than they could in paper form. But as Jackson notes, once they find what they want, “People like to print that and take it on the plane……. Its comforting to have a paper book,” Jackson says. “Its more fixed in the mind than if you read it off a screen.” 2

“The fact of the matter is that human beings have a long-standing meaningful relationship with paper. Paper is intimate. You can touch it, run your fingers down the type and feel the texture of the ink forming the letters. You can hold a page, rip it in half when you’re angry, crumple it up and throw it away when you’re frustrated at it (try doing with your computer screen!). Paper has one quality that today’s CRT screen lack – tactility. Can you see yourself taking a laptop to the beach or getting cozy with a Newton next to a blazing fire and a bear rug? Maybe you can. Whether or not you actually do it is another question.” 3


References:

1. Communitelligence.com, “Paperless Society: Myths and Reality”, May 2007
2. Bill Virgin,“It’s a brave e-world, but paper still king”, Seattle Post, December 2006
3. Mark J. Jones, “Myth of the Paperless Society”, February 1996.