E-books harder for comprehension

Saturday, 23 August 2014, 2:38 pm
Article: Digitl

Five years ago I wrote why people read less online than with print:

People spend less time reading online news than reading printed newspapers because reading a screen is more mentally and physically taxing.

I’ve no hard and fast evidence to offer. This is just my observation. It would make a great research project for someone.

The story says researchers at Norway's Stavanger University asked people to read the same short story on a Kindle and on paper. Those who read on paper did a better job of remembering the events than those who read on paper.

A similar study looked at a school student comprehension test which show those who read the paper document performed better than those who read digitally.

None of this surprises me, it mirrors my experience. I've noticed I get more from reading print than digitally. Also my eyes tire much slower with print.

If I have a serious editing or sub-editing job to do, I've learnt that proofreading a printed document is more accurate than working directly onscreen.

I doubt knowing readers absorb less with digital books will change anything. Nothing is likely to stop the world moving from print to pixels. But there's a danger we'll know more and understand less.

© Scoop Media

Bill Bennett

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