eReaders, Comprehension, and Consumer Preferences
By Rhonda L. Larson, 09/04/2014
I’ve recently noticed (because I’ve been looking) a number of articles on reading comprehension and digital text on tablets and ereaders. This topic also surfaced during the first class session of the Fundamentals of E-Publishing Course, part of GWU’s MPS in Publishing Program. Naturally, there is a range of opinions about digital publishing formats; reading is a personal activity, and no two human brains work the same.
A study published in January 2013 by Anne Mangen of University of Stavanger in Norway found that 10th graders who read material on a screen demonstrated less comprehension of the information than the same-grade students who read the material on paper.
A Harvard University study published in September 2013 found that reading on a screen helped high school students with dyslexia to read material faster and with greater comprehension. There have been any number of different studies on the comprehension levels of readers using both paper and digital formats, each study seeming to indicate something different—depending on the age of the test subjects, their familiarity with the digital devices, the reading material used, etc.
Considering the implications of all of these studies, those in the publishing industry would do well ask, “Which formats are more enjoyable for the reader?” as well as, “Which formats lend themselves to better comprehension of x type of material?”. It may also be worth exploring whether individual readers prefer different types of material in different formats—such as reference material in a digital format, and literature on paper. Ferris Jabr wisely pointed out in Scientific American in April 2013, “But why, one could ask, are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient technology that is paper? Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading into something else entirely? Screens obviously offer readers experiences that paper cannot.”
In June of this year, Julian Baggini wrote in the Financial Times, “…research has already told us a lot about how we read now. First and foremost, it emphasizes that even using paper, there are many different approaches…our habits have provably been created largely as combination of childhood experience and how the medium we read in is nudging us… Second, we might benefit from being aware just how much habit, fashion and culture shape our preferences.” In August, Forbes Magazine contributor Jeremy Greenfield asked “Will Ebooks Make Us Dumber?” (Although, the online version of this article was re-titled, in a charmingly ambiguous fashion, “Ebooks Will Make Us Dumber, Or They Won’t”.) Greenfield concludes, after mentioning a number of these types of studies, “What the right mix of reading is, for both adults and children, is unclear. What is certain is that what we think it is will change and that each individual study should be taken as a data point only, suggesting the path for future research”.
Ultimately, the consumers will make their preference of formats known by which products/formats they purchase.
There may be some information buried in these studies that sheds light on (or opportunities for further research that explores) the propensity of digital consumers, as opposed to paper book consumers, for “binge reading”. (Please see Emily Klingman’s thought-provoking piece on the implications of binge reading in the Editorial section of this newsletter.) Further, if binge reading has or will become a phenomenon, will that translate into a growing demand for E reader subscription services from providers like Oyster, Scribd, and Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited?
By Rhonda L. Larson, 09/04/2014
I’ve recently noticed (because I’ve been looking) a number of articles on reading comprehension and digital text on tablets and ereaders. This topic also surfaced during the first class session of the Fundamentals of E-Publishing Course, part of GWU’s MPS in Publishing Program. Naturally, there is a range of opinions about digital publishing formats; reading is a personal activity, and no two human brains work the same.
A study published in January 2013 by Anne Mangen of University of Stavanger in Norway found that 10th graders who read material on a screen demonstrated less comprehension of the information than the same-grade students who read the material on paper.
A Harvard University study published in September 2013 found that reading on a screen helped high school students with dyslexia to read material faster and with greater comprehension. There have been any number of different studies on the comprehension levels of readers using both paper and digital formats, each study seeming to indicate something different—depending on the age of the test subjects, their familiarity with the digital devices, the reading material used, etc.
Considering the implications of all of these studies, those in the publishing industry would do well ask, “Which formats are more enjoyable for the reader?” as well as, “Which formats lend themselves to better comprehension of x type of material?”. It may also be worth exploring whether individual readers prefer different types of material in different formats—such as reference material in a digital format, and literature on paper. Ferris Jabr wisely pointed out in Scientific American in April 2013, “But why, one could ask, are we working so hard to make reading with new technologies like tablets and e-readers so similar to the experience of reading on the very ancient technology that is paper? Why not keep paper and evolve screen-based reading into something else entirely? Screens obviously offer readers experiences that paper cannot.”
In June of this year, Julian Baggini wrote in the Financial Times, “…research has already told us a lot about how we read now. First and foremost, it emphasizes that even using paper, there are many different approaches…our habits have provably been created largely as combination of childhood experience and how the medium we read in is nudging us… Second, we might benefit from being aware just how much habit, fashion and culture shape our preferences.” In August, Forbes Magazine contributor Jeremy Greenfield asked “Will Ebooks Make Us Dumber?” (Although, the online version of this article was re-titled, in a charmingly ambiguous fashion, “Ebooks Will Make Us Dumber, Or They Won’t”.) Greenfield concludes, after mentioning a number of these types of studies, “What the right mix of reading is, for both adults and children, is unclear. What is certain is that what we think it is will change and that each individual study should be taken as a data point only, suggesting the path for future research”.
Ultimately, the consumers will make their preference of formats known by which products/formats they purchase.
There may be some information buried in these studies that sheds light on (or opportunities for further research that explores) the propensity of digital consumers, as opposed to paper book consumers, for “binge reading”. (Please see Emily Klingman’s thought-provoking piece on the implications of binge reading in the Editorial section of this newsletter.) Further, if binge reading has or will become a phenomenon, will that translate into a growing demand for E reader subscription services from providers like Oyster, Scribd, and Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited?