Into the unknown: Do people in low literacy rate areas practise digital reading?

Abstract

Various initiatives have been taken to bridge the urban-rural digital divide in Malaysia, which has impacted the change of mindset among the rural community in terms of acceptance and assimilation of digital technologies in their daily life. This includes digital literacy-related activities for self-development, especially in cultivating reading habits. The main purpose of this study is to investigate digital reading practices among rural communities in low literacy rate areas in promoting reading culture in Malaysia under the 10-year National Reading Decade (DMK) 2021-2030 programme. A quantitative design of the study which involved 400 rural community respondents from 4 selected states in Malaysia (Kedah, Kelantan, Sarawak, and Sabah) using the multi-stage and mixed sampling method in administering the survey questionnaires. This study found that rural communities in low literacy rate areas in Malaysia did practice digital reading, primarily on smartphone. The empowerment of digital literacy in terms of digital reading practices is believed to be able to narrow down the digital divide among rural communities. The findings are expected to provide useful guidance for rural development in ICT and create better understanding and awareness among policymakers to create a rural society which is learned and well-informed through a more inclusive digital reading practices.

Educational supply chain sustainability

“…DL is considered necessary for the government to make decisions regarding the sustainability of all of its supply chains (Kim, 2019; Stanley et al ., 2022), allocating budgets for educational activities and services (Indah et al ., 2022; Montiel and Gomez-Zermeño, 2022), generating investment opportunities for stakeholders in investing in cutting-edge digital technologies (Tran et al ., 2020) and allowing international-acknowledged frameworks such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assist institutions in developing educational strategies (Montiel and Gomez-Zermeño, 2022), and, later, expanding educational policies to include digitalization into all educational processes (Indah et al ., 2022). Moreover, government investments, initiatives, infrastructure and efficient manpower for DL implementations could bridge the digital divide between privileged and underprivileged societies while also strengthening the capability for technological planning and skill building (Indah et al ., 2022; Radovanović et al ., 2020; Samsuddin et al ., 2021; Tran et al ., 2020). Expenses for replication and high customization of educational activities and operations can be minimized, and education can reach a much larger number of people while contributing to digital transformation (Radovanović et al ., 2020).…”

“…Meanwhile, 93.1% of the literature reviewed for this paper stated that DL has a variety of impacts on society in an EduSC. DL empowerment in digital reading practices can help bridge the digital divide in rural communities (Samsuddin et al ., 2021), allowing them to stay connected, informed and updated on world events. UNESCO has even acknowledged that the use of ICT has the potential to accelerate progress, bridge the digital divide and contribute to the development of inclusive knowledge societies based on human rights, gender equality and empowerment (Nogueira et al ., 2021).…”

“…Additionally, DL highlights the need for a modern workforce and society to constantly develop digital skills in order to deal with future challenges (Martzoukou, 2021). It also influences reading behaviors, practices and perspectives toward digital information, and it can assist individuals in determining if a news article is trustworthy, accurate, or misleading (Samsuddin et al ., 2021).…”

“…This is because digital media is being used to create a new learning environment (Suwarto et al ., 2022). Utilization of digital media can cause changes in reading behaviors, with an increasing number of people preferring the web and wireless solutions to meet their information demands (Samsuddin et al ., 2021). Furthermore, DL is also crucial in raising awareness about the need for information evaluation performed by academic institutions to assist researchers in finding trustworthy information (Martzoukou, 2021).…”

Rational and irrational factors that predict the continued intention to engage in digital reading: a perspective from China

“…They make decisions under the combined influence of rational and irrational factors. As for digital reading behaviour, it does not only integrate the functions of traditional reading to promote learning, knowledge, and education, but also has the functions of fashion, social interaction, and leisure and entertainment (Samsuddin et al 2021). Therefore, it can be said that users' digital reading behaviour has both rational and irrational factors.…”