Recently published in the New York Times, Austin Cosidine’s article “Noticed | E-Books Make Readers Less Isolated” unveils the stigmatization of the “bookworm” and how technology may be helping that issue.

“VOLUMES have been written about technology’s ability to connect people. But burying one’s nose in a book has always been somewhat isolating — with its unspoken assertion that the reader does not want to be disturbed. So what about a device that occupies the evolving intersection between?

With the price of e-readers coming down, sales of the flyweight devices are rising…Social mores surrounding the act of reading alone in public may be changing along with increased popularity. Suddenly, the lone, unapproachable reader at the corner table seems less alone.

Paul Levinson, professor of communication and media studies at Fordham University [states], “I think, historically, there has been a stigma attached to the bookworm, and that actually came from the not-untrue notion that, if you were reading, you weren’t socializing with other people.”

Not everyone agrees that e-readers have made the people reading them more approachable. In fact, the opposite may be true in some cases. Jenny Block, a Dallas-based writer and sex columnist, said that she thought her Kindle was a stronger pre-emptive rebuff than a book. “’I think the Kindle sends the imperative ‘I’m busy, please don’t disturb me’ message when you are traveling on a plane or eating in a restaurant or relaxing at a resort.'”