How Using a Stylus and Tablet has Impacted the Usage of Pen and Paper

The Impact of Stylus and Pad on Pen and Paper: A Comparative Essay
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* Introduction
Innovation and technological advancements have revolutionized the world and significantly impacted human life in different ways. Digitalization has affected everything around including our writing. The evolution of technology has replaced paper and pen with stylus and pad, and people are shifting towards digital writing primarily to increase their efficiency and save time. The Stylus pen was introduced as an assistant tool for ebooks, which soon became the significant input tool to be used by tabs, pads, and mobile phones for writing or drawing purposes. They are more precise and accurate in drawing (Rana, 2022). These pens were standardized to be used on touch screens as writing tools. The size and thickness of these pens are continuously improving to make their use more comfortable for people and provide a better writing experience than traditional pen and paper. Good handwriting skills are associated with academic achievements and learning (Wollscheid et al., 2016). The continuous evolution of the stylus pen gives the users the feeling of real pen and paper writing, which shows that the tradition of using pen and paper for writing cannot be abruptly changed because people are too familiar with this traditional practice. The subsequent essay analyzes similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of new technology compared to the old one. It asses the impact of brand and product type on using a stylus. The paper will also explore the impact of age and the working/study field on the preference for the writing tool.
* Background Information of the Topic
Stylus and tablets are not common among the population yet. Despite its widespread knowledge and preference, the technology needs time for people to adapt to the changes in traditional writing methods. Osugi et al. (2019) conducted a survey that specified that learning with fun activities is more efficient for the students. Individuals find digital fun more interesting while learning than the traditional pen and paper. The use of a digital pen decreases the workload and stress. The mood has a significant influence on the individual learning process. The students feel a more significant workload with the traditional pen and paper.
The user behavior survey conducted for this paper to compare pen and paper vs. stylus and tablet shows that the percentage of people using pen and paper is 44% and stylus tablets are 44%, which means several targeted samples equally use both tools. The research participants are 18-29 years or older, including most of the female population. They belong to the technology or art field, so preferring a stylus and tablet is more common. Some individuals prefer using both tools per their requirements, accounting for 11% of the selected sample population. People use stylus for different purposes. Most people, comprising up to 67% of the population, use the stylus and tablet for note-taking purposes; 67% use digital drawing devices, and 22% use it for annotation of documents (Survey, 2023). The selection of a brand also plays a crucial role in making device decisions or use of technology.
Every brand has different products and user interference, allowing customers to make buying choices. 56% of participants use iPads, and 22% use Samsung Galaxy Tab, whereas the other 33% make different choices from other affordable brands. The participants in the survey have mainly used Apple Pencil, Samsung S Pen, and Microsoft Surface Pen for writing. The survey results show that more people are comfortable using pen and paper for drawing than a stylus and tablet (Survey, 2023). It might be why pen and paper offer greater ease of use when drawing freely. Stylus is preferable for the participants to organize and rearrange notes, edit notes or delete and make changes, get assistance in drawing and graphs, take advantage of saving the notes on clouds, and convert their handwritten notes into text.
Digital drawing and new tools provide endless opportunities to artists and users. They can now make unlimited mistakes or errors and redo the work countless times without storage issues and concerns about taking the sketchbook with them everywhere. Digital drawing technology offers users a wide range of features, and that too at the beginner’s level. The Adobe Company encourages people to take initiative with stylus pens and experiment with different things and tools to gain experience. It provides endless opportunities in the current technological world to widen your horizons and experience with diverse available tools (Adobe, 2023). It also eliminates the need for different pens and notebooks because a stylus and tablet can help organize notes for several subjects in a single device.
* Historical overview of pen and paper
Pen and paper is the traditional and basic communication tool whose history spans thousands of years. Primitive people used animal skins or walls in the cave as paper for writing purposes. Charcoal and other available alternatives were used as a replacement for the pen. After some time, papyrus from a plant source served as a substitute for animal skin. The reed pen took over charcoal, sourcing ink from various natural ingredients. Quill pens, clay tablets, ink brushes, and wax tablets were some early developments witnessed by mankind as a historical transformation of pen and paper (Ariel, 2019). So, the change is inevitable with the latest breakthrough in technological advancements. In the era of digital evolution, the stylus and tablet is one of the most advanced form of writing and communication tool.
People are used to traditional writing using pen and paper since always. It is a new technology that challenges the traditional method of writing, so it will take time to adapt to the new technology and changing environment. The participants also find it difficult to charge the product since it has limited battery life. It is easy to get distracted while using a tablet due to several other apps and programs available on the tablet and constant notifications and upgrades. Some participants raised their concerns about the price of the stylus and tablet. Although 78% of people believe that a stylus and tablet improve productivity, it provides an unlimited canvas for drawing. It can add media and other visuals to notes, search for keywords in the notes, share them online, and transfer them to other apps. However, some reasons make people avoid using stylus and tablets for note-taking. It is mostly that people are uncomfortable while using stylus and tablets. 50% of participants find using it uncomfortable (Survey, 2023). Pen and paper are the most economical options used for writing. So, comparatively, a stylus is expensive and might not be affordable for many people. The participant also considered writing on a stylus slower than on paper due to distractions, navigation, and organization issues.
* Introduction of Stylus and Tablet
The current worth of the digital pen market is valued at $ 1.17 billion in the year 2023, which is expected to increase to $4.32 billion in 2032. This shows the potential in the business and future trends of the use of digital pens by the population. The projection is made with the growing demand for digital pens in numerous sectors, such as healthcare, medicine, banking, education, and marketing (Market et al., 2022). Figure 1 below illustrates the projected trends in market size from 2018 to 2032.
Figure 1: Digital Pen Market Research Report (Market Research Future, 2022).
Brands such as Apple, Samsung, and Microsoft are making continuous efforts to improve the design, technology, and precision of the Stylus pen, offering a better user experience to the users. It provides fine contact, giving a unique familiarity to the users as compared to the traditional pen and paper, which has more accurate precision. The market's most advanced and highest-quality products are the Apple Pen by Apple Inc. and the Surface Pen by Microsoft. These two products have pixel-perfect precision, increasing the expectations of the digital pen market to be more successful and acquire greater market share soon.
* Thesis Statement
The thesis statement of this report is to provide insights into how using a stylus and tablet has impacted the usage of pen and paper by comparing the similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of both.
II. Comparison
* Similarities
Stylus and traditional pens are used for writing, drawing, or marking. It is the fundamental similarity between them regardless of several differences between them. They can also be used for communication, sketching, taking notes, or signatures. They are assistant tools with advantages and disadvantages (Stylus, 2021). Some people find it easy to use paper and pen, while others believe a stylus and tab is more convenient to use and carry around. It is easy for people to access both in the modern technological world where devices and gadgets are available widely. The advantages of a stylus pen cannot be denied. It allows the users to
Using a stylus or pen depends on the personal preferences and choices of the people, along with the type of work/field the tool is used for. Both tools are comfortable to use from the users' perspective and preferences. It is only a fact that people are used to writing with traditional pen and paper, so they find it more convenient (Siegel, 2023). They have more experience writing on paper, but the experience and training can help them improve their writing using digital tools. Digital and traditional writing tools offer equal prospects for creative people to express their ideas and thoughts. However, digital tools provide more features and options for expressing ideas and creativity. Several tools and features are available in digital writing that cannot be used or accessed in traditional writing. Digital writing has all the characteristics of traditional writing, but traditional writing has limited features, whereas digital writing tools offer more options and choices to its users.
* Differences
The differences between a stylus and a pen are evident for several reasons. Stylus is considered the most advanced technology for writing or drawing. It is called digital writing, using the touchscreen and a digital writing pen called a stylus. At the same time, pen and paper have been known to be the traditional method of writing for centuries. Stylus and tablet are considered precise writing tool that controls writing. In contrast, traditional writing largely depends on the pen type, the quality of the notepad, and the writer's abilities. Stylus and pen are considered portable devices since it is easy to carry the tablet and stylus anywhere, which may contain data, notes, and documents (Tatarescu et al., 2023). The traditional writing tools are difficult to carry everywhere, along with drawing tools and equipment. The digital devices allow the writers to edit the documents easily without much trouble.
The documents can be edited, deleted, or modified several times, a feature not offered by traditional writing. The writings can be saved, arranged, and systematized within the tablet longer. The copies can be made and sent or shared to other apps or with several users, but traditional notes risk loss or damage, making it difficult to organize them systematically (Campos et al., 2022). The cost of a stylus might be high, but a one-time investment lowers the cost in the long term. In contrast, traditional writing costs a consid...