5G refreshes your digital reading experience

Digital reading has unlimited potential

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"I recommend this book to you" and "I saw this paragraph yesterday, it's very interesting, I want to share it with you"... Similar words can often be seen in the chat records between Tingting, a girl born in the 1990s, and her friends. She and her friend are loyal users of a reading APP. When they read a good book or find a good sentence or paragraph, they will convert it into a link and send it to each other.

"I spend an hour every day reading books on the app." Tingting told the reporter that there are many readers like her. She has joined a WeChat group, which includes students, office workers older than herself, and even retirees. Whenever someone wants to form a team to draw a free reading card on the app, they send a small program to apply for a team to the group, "and it will be full in a short time."

The 2020 China Digital Reading Report shows that from 2016 to 2020, the scale of China's digital reading industry has gradually grown, the user scale has expanded, and the per capita digital reading volume has gradually increased. According to the China Children's Digital Reading Report and China's 18th National Reading Survey, in 2020, the number of children under 7 years old and the middle-aged and elderly groups participating in digital reading increased, indicating that the audience covers multiple age groups from children to the elderly.

"It can be said that digital reading has ushered in an era of universal access, which is a reconstruction of the overall social reading scene." Weng Changshou, a researcher at the Center for Journalism and Social Development, School of Journalism, Renmin University of China, told reporters that from the supply side, the Internet is booming, and the supply of e-books and online content has become mainstream, and it is easier to obtain capital, technology and market empowerment, thereby promoting the growing demand for digital content on the demand side. "In addition, since everyone is more accustomed to home activities during the epidemic prevention period, it has also stimulated the potential of digital reading to a certain extent."

Online literature drives the development of the industrial chain

"The Legend of Zhen Huan", "Nirvana in Fire", "Joy of Life"... A number of TV series adapted from online literature have appeared on TV and the Internet, attracting a large number of viewers. Xiao Tao, who works in Beijing, is one of them. She told reporters that the plot content of the adapted dramas is guaranteed and highly watchable, and she usually reads the original works while watching the dramas. In her spare time, she also reads novels on the platform and rewards for "urging for more updates". Xiao Tao is just one of many paying readers. The "2020 China Digital Reading Report" shows that more than 80% of the users participating in the survey have paid for digital reading, and nearly half of them paid for online literature.

This trend reflects the new trend of online literature. Some analysts pointed out that in 2003, Qidian.com officially started to operate the VIP system, and authors earned income from writing books, making online literature an emerging industry with sustainable development. Now, online literature is no longer limited to the single model of authors writing and readers reading, but a platform that gathers professional writers to produce high-quality content, novels are adapted as IPs, and audiences and original readers watch the drama and buy peripheral products.

Experts believe that the online literature industry has broken the traditional upstream and downstream divisions and differences between industries to form an industrial chain that benefits various groups including authors, platforms, producers and audiences.

Explore multi-scenario immersive reading

The reporter learned that the picture book "The Twelve Zodiac Signs Hidden in the Shanxi Museum" produced by the Shanxi Museum brilliantly presents 12 cultural relics in the collection that correspond to the twelve zodiac signs. With the help of AR technology, by scanning the AR points in the picture book with a mobile phone or tablet, the static cultural relics and animal images in the book can be "alive", and the historical stories and cultural connotations behind them can be vividly displayed on the screen. The limited picture book reading materials can be displayed through electronic products, with a more intuitive form and richer content, which has attracted many children to experience it.

Empowered by technology, not only has the method of reading been iteratively updated, but the scenarios of digital reading have also become more diversified.

Bookshelves filled with books are arranged in order on the screen, extending into the distance. Shake the phone to change the perspective; click the ground sign to move the camera forward through the narrow corridor. If you are interested in a book, click on the cover to learn about the content and place an order. In Migu CITIC Cloud VR Bookstore, you can enter the 360-degree panoramic bookstore without leaving home, design a route according to your personal wishes, explore the store online, and buy books online.

It is understood that many libraries and museums in China have used high-tech means to build "cloud" visiting platforms. The reading scenes that were unimaginable in the past have now become a reality. Weng Changshou pointed out that 5G, AR, VR... these professional terms may sound far away, but when reflected in communication technology, they will bring readers a new experience and real convenience. "The changes and impacts brought about by new technologies are all-round, visible and tangible. Technological innovation will provide more imaginative space for future digital reading."