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Are Audio Books Harmful?

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TammyII
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Are Audio Books Harmful?

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Hi everyone,

I have a question, is it really true that audio books can be harmful for individuals, or children especially? Someone told me that it makes a child lazy...
chancew1
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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I can't imagine an audio book making someone lazy.

Especially children. I don't know if I've ever see a child listen to an audio book.

First of all, most people can read at least two or three times faster than they can listen. It takes a lot of time to get through an audio book. Most people listen to audio books at times when they can't read - in the car, while doing housework, that sort of thing.

Finally, an audio book only provides the words, just like reading. The only difference is that they come in the ears, not the eyes. It's not like a television show - you still have to use your imagination.

I don't see how listening with the ears is any more lazy than looking with your eyes.
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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Plus, some audio books can bennefit children. They have the read along books with the audio so difficult words are used in sentences to help the child understand.
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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I think audiobooks are a great compliment to written books and as Bill says above they are perfect for when a person cannot take the time to read.
BretAM5
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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I could never read in the car growing up (still can't, always get carsick after a minute or so). But I must have listened to the first four Harry Potter books on cassette about a hundred times on long car trips. I don't think it hurt my development as a reader.

By the time the fifth book was out and on audio, though, I had discovered classic rock, and my car rides became filled with glorious music. To each his own.
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DamianLake
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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I hear this opinion from time to time. Here is my own take on it, as a person who has spent 3/4 of my life immersed in books, and half of them audiobooks thanks to my local library.

It seems to me that anyone spouting the statement that audio books makes children lazy is someone who, himself, is too lazy to actually look up that sort of statistic and is instead passing off their own opinion disguised as a pseudo-fact. Parents are encouraged to read to their children because it is beneficial in numerous ways. I could go on endlessly, but the facts are best summed up by the masters themselves.

Jim Dale, (the most awesome reader the Harry Potter books could have ever received), shares the company line with us at the end of the last few Potter books. I wholeheartedly agree with the statement. Nothing I have ever seen in my own life and the lives of others has made me question this even once. Here is their argument, word for word:

"Hello, this is Jim Dale. I hope you have enjoyed this unabridged listening library production. As you know, audio books are great entertainment and a wonderful way to enjoy a good book when your hands are busy, but have you ever considered audiobooks as being good for you? Most of us know from firsthand experience just how beneficial it is to read aloud to the children in our lives. Listening to stories helps children build vocabulary, improve their reading skills, and succeed more readily in school. Being read to is an important step on the road to becoming a good reader and one of the best ways to ensure a lifelong love of literature and reading. But few of us have all the time we'd like to read to the children in our lives; that's where audiobooks can help. Instead of letting a child turn on the television or pop in a video game, try pressing play and engaging them in a good book. Listening to an audiobook has the same educational value as it would if someone were doing the reading in person, and they are great entertainment for trips in the car or at home when no one is available to read to them. A wide range of books guaranteed to appeal to children of all ages, including most childhood classics, are available on cassette or cd in bookstores and libraries across the country. So the next time you are considering what to listen to, why not consider picking up something for the children in your life?"
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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Just to complete my thoughts from above, I would go crazy if I didn't have my headphones to listen to while doing the yard work or other household chores that are so mind-numbingly dull.
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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Kind of on a related note, I just saw this article about how a company is releasing an app that sets e-books to soundtracks, unless it's classical music I can't imagine it not being distracting though:

http://www.businessinsider.com/booktracks-2011-8
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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Does reading to a child cause harm? Though it lacks the human interaction and question/answer aspect, I would guess that listening to an audio book is a similar experience to having a book read by a parent or other adult. I read to my children every night when they were young, in the hopes that they would develop a love for literature and reading. It worked for my first two, but by the time my youngest was in his teens, cell phones, the Internet and video gaming had come along and essentially replaced all that with more "instant gratification." On the other hand, he learned to type incredibly fast and became a good writer, so I guess the tradeoff was ultimately of some value.
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Re: Are Audio Books Harmful?

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During many sleepless nights have I enjoyed stories told to me..often drifting off , missing the last few pages read; but tomorrow night will arrive, sleepless hours too.. and some one will read to me again...starting where we left off during a previous night..
Though, I do prefer turning pages ...
Last edited by nomsisa on Sat Sep 17, 2011 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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