According to Spanish researchers, reading print materials for pleasure improves understanding of texts far more than reading on digital devices.
Researchers at the University of Valencia analyzed 25 studies on reading comprehension published between 2000 and 2022, which assessed 470,000 participants.
Their findings have just been published in the Review of Educational Research magazine. What’s important to keep in mind before going to conclusions is that the study analyzes all kinds of text, not only books.
The main conclusion is that reading the printed text over a long period of time could increase comprehension skills by up to eight times more than reading on the digital screen.
💬 If a student spends 10 hours reading books on paper, their comprehension will probably be 6 to 8 times greater than if they read on digital devices for the same amount of time.
What’s more, the solid positive relationship between reading habits on paper and comprehension contrasts with the minimal relationship between leisure reading habits on screen and reading comprehension.
Digital texts tend to have lower quality language and lack complex syntax and reasoning. The reading mindset for digital texts is also shallower, with scanning being more common.
The relationship between digital reading and comprehension is negative for primary school students, but positive for secondary school and undergraduate students. This may be because young children are more easily distracted by notifications on digital devices.
There is no mention of e-readers, but as the main reasons of lower digital comprehension are scanning and distractions, the difference between paper and e-readers would be smaller.
Via: Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital text – The Guardian
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