Kaya Drive: One has to go – books, movies or music?

By: Natasha Archary

Kaya Drive with Sizwe Dhlomo have asked listeners a pertinent question, between books, movies or music, which one has to go?

For Siz, it’s movies because the avid music lover is also a keen reader, who spends his early mornings reading.

Bookworms can relate, and attest to the magic of being transported into the world within the books they read.

Yes, with the advent of technology you may not be far off to assume that people would rather read an e-book, than flip through the pages of a good old-fashioned, printed book.

There are, however, traditionalists who would never be able to trade the hard cover or leather bindings for a digital version.

The numbers do not speak volumes for South Africans however, with only 14% of the population consisting of readers. Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, berates the lack of reading culture in the the country.

That said, seven out of ten adults read for leisure.

Books will never be obsolete

While the form of reading material is subjective with many preferring magazines and newspapers to an actual book, a survey conducted found that seventy percent of the country’s population reads for leisure.

The survey further notes that twenty five percent of South African adults read books, and a total of five million adults were committed to printed books.

Older generations would be able to recount memories of visits to the library, for research on school projects or to borrow new reading material during the school holidays or weekends.

Reading is a past-time that may be lost on the millennial youth of today who may not have been exposed to that social culture until campus life.

That said, it doesn’t look like the life of books will ever be obsolete.

When it comes to music, remember vinyl music in the age of the CD? Yup, sceptics thought the same would happen and that internet would replace the video star.

But, vinyls are making a comeback and video stars just have a new platform to release their work on, so nothing was ever replaced.

So, that leaves movies. There is a huge market for movies, whether it’s via streaming platforms or at the cinema, movie-boffins follow latest release news and catch up on trailers.

The visual form of entertainment is a more popular pick today, as many people watch movies to pass their time.

More than 70% of people prefer to watch movies at home, because it’s convenient and they don’t have to deal with anyone ruining their cinematic experience.