Norwegian researchers have explored the impact of digitalisation on our ability to read and concentrate. Discovering that all is not lost
– Milan
In the era of digitalisation, the ability to concentrate when reading long and complex texts is put to the test, and there are many concerns for parents and educators. But have smartphones and computers really compromised our ability to read for long periods of time? I asked myself this recently some Norwegian scholarsreaching a less obvious conclusion than one might imagine.
The End of Traditional Reading?
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In an article on forskning.no, Ivar Bråten, professor at the Department of Education at the University of Oslo, explained that “We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the era of extended reading as we know it.” An interesting debate arose.
Young readers grow up
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The reading ability of Norwegian adolescents has in fact been the subject of periodic evaluation through the international PISA study for some years now. Analyzing the results from 2000 to 2018, it appears that reading skills in Norway have remained essentially unchanged. And this despite significant social and cultural transformations, such as the pervasive diffusion of social media. AND if reading for leisure has decreased compared to 2000, as has the frequency of reading long texts, in parallel, there has been an increase in online reading. Interestingly, according to research, students who communicate frequently via chat or who search for information online tend to perform better on reading tests. This phenomenon suggests a positive impact of digital reading on general skills. So everything is normal? Not exactly…
“The results of the PISA study highlight a decline in reading between 2015 and 2018. However, it is important to remember that PISA evaluates specific reading skills and habits, leaving out other aspects such as persistence in reading and the ability to deal with long and complex” he declared, a forskning.no, Anne Mangen, reading expert and lecturer at the University of Stavanger. According to the scholar, other indicators suggest a decline in reading skills, including teacher feedback. “Today we tend to read short snippets of text and are less familiar with the experience of spending time on a single text for extended periods. Students, adolescents and adults also report reading fewer books and extended texts, a trend also confirmed by teachers.”
The Challenge of Digital Reading
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The ability to read long, coherent, complex texts is a challenge for many. The scholar also says she is sure that it would be better to favor reading on paper for longer texts. “I’m not saying to avoid digital reading completely, but it’s essential to find a balance,” she explains. “The choice between paper and digital media should depend on the type of text and the objective of reading. It is crucial to recognize that the experience of reading a coherent text on paper has a transferable value to digital reading, but the opposite is not equally true “. Finally, according to Mangen, the transition towards digital reading has a negative impact on our ability to deal with long and complex texts. This is partly because much of our daily reading takes place on smartphones, devices which, due to their size and the ease of distraction they involve, are not ideal for reading long texts and studying. “Reading is a multisensory experience that goes beyond simple sight and brain processing,” he comments.
Question of Concentration
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But all is not lost: when it comes to in-depth reading skills, in addition to understanding the text, concentration must also be considered, as explained by psychology professor Lin Sørensen, again forskning.no. If it is true that it is easier to concentrate on topics that we are passionate about, fully understanding a text, according to the expert, today more than ever also means knowing how to select the most relevant information, without trying to memorize every detail. And it is not entirely true that digitalisation has eroded this ability: rather we are distracted by different stimuli than in the past. How to get out of it? Immersion in a text, especially in less interesting subjects, should be considered physical training: you can improve through practice. And the school should be seen as one “gym” of attention.
In short, according to the psychologist there is no need to be catastrophic: “As long as our ability to concentrate is normal, we will be able to return to what we are doing after getting distracted.” Rather, the important thing is to be able to get what we need from reading and studying. “We don’t necessarily have to remember everything that’s written.”
Conclusions
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The data suggests that although young people read less in their free time, reading skills have remained fairly stable. This could be attributed to changing ways of reading, such as the preference for reading online rather than on paper. And, although many report difficulty concentrating when reading long texts, this does not necessarily imply an inadequate understanding of the content. For this reason, experts are not entirely pessimistic about the possibility of improving our ability to concentrate, as long as we train them in places like school. But to know how and to what extent, further studies are needed on the use of written content in the digital age: only by understanding how we have changed, according to researchers, will we be able to adapt effectively and cultivate reading and concentration skills that respond to the challenges of the present time.
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