We prefer physical books and art

Groth, Block, and Newman state that “The explosion in digitization means that individuals increasingly have the opportunity to choose between digital and physical versions of creative works—for example, between eBooks and paperback books. However, despite the popularity of digital objects, many people continue to prefer physical equivalents. We suggest that one reason for this preference is that physical versions of works are felt to embody the essence of their creators. Across six studies, we find that physical versions of creative works are indeed seen as embodying the essence of the creator, and as a result, are perceived to be more authentic instantiations of the creative work as compared to digital versions.”

Oden Groth, Lauren Block, and George Newman.  “Los in Digitization:  The Physical Format of Creative Work Affects Authenticity Perceptions.”  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000628