Digital Reading and Saudi Youth: A TV Interview on Al-Thaqafia Channel

This post is a translation of the original Arabic article.

I appeared on Saudi Arabia's Al-Thaqafia Channel on the program "Al-Thaqafa Al-Youm" (Culture Today) to discuss modern digital reading methods.

Watch the interview on YouTube

Topics Covered in the Interview

1. Reading Today Is Not What It Was

• Languages are more widely accessible
• Translation is more prolific and more accurate
• Content comes in more forms: written, audio, and video
• More devices: digital and print

2. Social Reading Networks

The rise of social networks has given birth to specialized reading platforms like GoodReads:

• Integration with Facebook and Twitter, connecting it to people's existing social relationships
• The ability to build a virtual library with shelves (books read, currently reading, and want to read)
• Connecting people based on taste and reading preferences, and allowing them to follow each other
• The service is linked to Amazon and major publishers for book discovery

3. Digital Content Publishing Companies

The role of companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and others in making books accessible:

• Amazon made purchasing e-books easy
• Audible for audiobooks
• Safari Books for specialized digital library subscriptions
• Amazon enables reading across all devices, led by the Kindle device designed specifically for comfortable e-book reading

4. Devices

Mobile devices (iPads), e-readers, and smartphones have all become content readers. Even cars are now equipped for connectivity.

5. Saudi Society and the Digital Reading Movement

• Digital reading is increasingly widespread among youth
• This movement is supported by the growing trend of young Saudis forming specialized book clubs
• The Saudi Book Club exists
• Reading in English is on the rise
• Business, self-development, and specialized books are popular among the educated
• Translated international novels and graphic novels (comics) are spreading
• Growing awareness and desire for growth among young people
• The return of scholarship students from abroad

6. How to Support the Shift and Keep Up with the New Movement

• Book fairs should offer books in all languages, not only Arabic
• Arabic publishers should publish their content digitally through major content platforms
• The Ministry of Education should work toward eliminating printed textbooks
• An official digital edition of the Quran does not yet exist
• Public libraries, schools, and universities should offer digital books
• Affordable subscriptions should be available to public library members