Is it true that back when books became popular, people thought that they were as disruptive as phones today? Did people believe that books negatively affected one's life?

by [deleted]

Often when someone says that phones are disrupting our lives negatively, some respond that the same thing was said about books. Is that true? Did people ever discourage others from reading?

Bepoptherobot

There certainly was apprehension to the technology behind books (mainly the printing press). One such case that I know of was Johannes Trithemius. The man had such disdain for the printing press and its products as he thought it would make people lazy when it came to copying works.

In praise of Scribes: https://misc.yarinareth.net/trithemius.html