The impact of technology use on adolescents' leisure reading preferences

Abstract

There is worldwide concern about the decline in children and adolescent enjoyment of reading as documented by international and national surveys, with smartphones and other technologies often blamed for the decline. Yet, with recent rapid improvements in technologies for reading, the accelerated adoption of devices for learning during the pandemic and increased access to e-books through the public library system in Singapore, the relationship between adolescent technology use and reading may be more complex than is typically painted in popular press. This mixed-methods study seeks to make current an understanding of adolescent reading in relation to technology by exploring adolescents' preferred reading devices, their use of technology for reading and their use of public e-resources for reading. In this study, adolescents preferred using their smartphones over print forms for reading and preferred to read social media online. E-books accessed freely through the public library were under-utilised, and adolescents reported lack of knowledge or experience about how to look for reading resources online. Findings suggest an intentional and nuanced approach is needed to create an ecosystem of opportunities for adolescents to have meaningful reading experiences in print and digitally.

“Because I have my phone with me all the time”: The role of device access in developing Singapore adolescents’ critical news literacy

“…Laptops/computers and tablets were more likely to be shared among family members compared with smartphones, which tended to be individually owned. An earlier analysis of the survey data also showed that while print was most used for reading storybooks, non‐fiction and magazines, smartphones were the most used for reading news and comics (Loh & Sun, 2022).…”

“…Indeed, much empirical research has investigated young people's news consumption habits with reference to technology. Evidence from economically developed nations seems to confirm that adolescents generally prefer to read digital rather than print news (Chan‐Olmsted et al, 2013; Loh & Sun, 2022; Lowenstein‐Barkai & Lev‐on, 2021; Notley et al, 2022). The smartphone is typically the preferred medium as it can be used for multiple functions, is always available, and offers ubiquitous connectivity (Boczkowski et al, 2018).…”

“…But what impact does this ubiquitous smartphone access have on adolescent news literacy? With more than 95% of adolescents in industrialized countries such as the United States (Schaeffer, 2019), the United Kingdom (The Guardian, 2020), and Singapore (Loh & Sun, 2022) reporting that they have their own smartphones, it is easy for policymakers and educators to assume that adolescents can and will read the news. However, the exact relationship between aspects of access and news reading has not been fully understood.…”

“…It is one of the most digitally connected countries in the world (IMDA, 2021), and its adolescents score highly on English reading tests, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results (OECD, 2019). However, even with this high level of connectivity and literacy, recent studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that students underused their devices for digital leisure reading (Loh & Sun, 2022). Moreover, local educators consistently complain that adolescents do not read enough news (Chia, 2020).…”

#BookTokMadeMeReadIt: young adult reading communities across an international, sociotechnical landscape

“…It is not surprising that young adult readers are considered to be early adopters when it comes to embracing social media platforms to talk about books and reading (Gardner and Davis, 2014; Jenkins, 2009; Palfrey and Gasser, 2008; Reddan, 2022). But despite many young people having access to multiple digital platforms, most young readers still prefer to read in print formats (Faverio and Perrin, 2021; Loh and Sun, 2018). The first and second author of this paper have researched digital reading and emerging formats over the last decade, and first learned about TikTok and BookTok during the pandemic.…”