No Negative Effects of Reading on Screen on Comprehension of Narrative Texts Compared to Print

Author(s)
Annika Schwabe, Fabienne Lind, Lukas Kosch, Hajo Boomgaarden
Abstract

While some argue digital reading media may impair text comprehension, the empirical literature is ambiguous, in particular when it comes to the reading of narrative texts. Therefore, a comprehensive and systematic meta-analysis of studies exploring the effect of screen reading media on reading comprehension of narrative texts was conducted (k = 32, N = 2239). Multimedia and interactive functions in general, the type of multimedia and interactive functions, the change in effect over time, and the type of digital reading device (computer, e-reader, and tablet) were explored as moderating variables. In general, the analyses did not reveal a significant impact of the reading medium (screen vs. paper) on the reading comprehension of a narrative text. Moreover, there does not seem to be a difference over time and between different types of digital reading devices. Also, the analysis of the subsample of studies using plain digital text without any additional functions in comparison to print showed no significant differences. In contrast, multimedia and interactive functions of digital texts affect reading comprehension positively, regardless of the type of additional function. In conclusion, the results do not suggest a negative effect of digital reading media on reading comprehension when reading narrative texts.

Organisation(s)
Department of German Studies, Department of Communication
Journal
Media Psychology
Volume
25
Pages
779-796
No. of pages
18
ISSN
1521-3269
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2070216
Publication date
05-2022
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
508008 Media analysis, 508006 Communication theory, 501012 Media psychology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Communication, Social Psychology, Applied Psychology
Portal url
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/no-negative-effects-of-reading-on-screen-on-comprehension-of-narrative-texts-compared-to-print(1b15b7b0-7140-4b68-9c43-5d13f852ed65).html