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A study conducted by Spanish researchers reveals that digital devices have little impact on improving reading skills. This includes reading techniques, vocabulary expansion, and comprehension.
Despite the fact that modern children seem to be born with phones in their hands, researchers are urging educators and parents to encourage students, especially those in elementary grades, to read printed books more often.
The Medium Matters
In recent years, mobile phones, tablets, and computers have led to the emergence of new reading habits and have significantly overshadowed printed publications. However, they have not completely replaced them, and scientists believe they never will. After all, paper books are best suited for mastering reading skills.
A team of researchers from the University of Valencia analyzed the results of 25 studies on this topic conducted between 2000 and 2022, involving around 470,000 volunteers from three dozen countries. The meta-analysis showed that the use of digital gadgets does not enhance students’ ability to read text and understand its content.
The researchers calculated that if a student spends 10 hours of free time reading printed materials, their comprehension ability will be six to eight times higher than if they read the same content on digital devices for the same amount of time.
According to co-author of the study, Lydia Altamura, the team expected that digital reading for leisure purposes, such as visiting educational or news websites, would help deepen understanding of text content. However, the scientists were mistaken.
The authors found that among elementary and middle school students, there is almost no correlation between digital reading during leisure time, even for educational purposes, and comprehension of what they read. Although high school students and college students demonstrated somewhat better understanding of texts read on digital devices, as reported by the Independent.
Conclusions Drawn by Researchers
Lydia Altamura noted, “For developing readers, digital reading during leisure time does not benefit comprehension.”
The researchers proposed two reasons why digital reading may not have the same effect for novice readers as printed reading does.
First, reading on a screen can be distracting, as devices typically offer many other functions.
Second, the process of reading online is accompanied by certain specific and, unfortunately, not the best features. In particular, the possibility of skimming without immersing oneself in the content, lower quality texts, and a limited vocabulary.
The authors emphasize that educators and parents should encourage students, especially those in elementary grades, to read in print more often than on digital devices.
The results of the study were published in the Review of Educational Research.
