Decoding digital ownership: Why your e-book might not feel like ‘yours’. People feel very differently about owning physical books versus e-books, a recent study shows. While stereotypes suggest that younger consumers prefer digital books, that is not actually the case, researchers found.

Despite stereotypes that paint millennials as “all technology, all the time,” young people may still prefer curling up with a paper book over their e-reader – even more so than their older counterparts – according to a new study from the University of Arizona that explores consumers’ psychological perceptions of e-book ownership.

The study also found that adult consumers across all age groups perceive ownership of e-books very differently than ownership of physical books, and this could have important implications for those in the business of selling digital texts.

Participants across all age groups reported feeling a constricted sense of ownership of digital books versus physical books, based on the fact that they don’t have full control over the products. For example, they expressed frustration that they often could not copy a digital file to multiple devices. (1)

What is mine is here for me to touch.

Our sense of the world is limited to the reach of our hands.

We may feel like the masters of the universe.

But we are just people. Walking on the ground.

Touch that rose. Watch out of the thorns.

I told you.

Blood.

Red blood.

Dripping.

In the morning brisk.

Let me touch you. I love you. Yes.

I am the master of the universe…