Online and Print Reading 1

The Influential Power of Words

Introduction

For my Senior Project, I am exploring how, what causes, and why people change over the

course of high school, in the form of a movie. During this long term project, I’ll expand my

video and photography skills, along with learning more about social hierarchy and changes in the

brain during the developmental stages of adolescence. My focus for the research involves the

various aspects that make a story great. Today, adolescents read short and simple news delivered

to their phones. This fact drove my curiosity to arise: ¨What kind of properties make a story

appealing to people?¨ I feel as though this topic connects to my project because of the changes

that continue to occur with youth. These considerations lead me to develop my essential

question: What makes reading more appealing in the world of print versus the digital world?

Initially, I assumed I’d end up researching subtopics related to psychology and brain chemistry. I

assume that my research will reveal a greater bias toward writing in print over online. For views

opposing my assumptions, I expect technology today has proven to be just as useful and effective

in the literary world as any great works in print. In this age of technology, books and or

magazines whether ebooks, online magazines, or audiobooks, their accessibility will always be a

great convenience.

Literature Review

A writer for lifehacks.org, Lana Winter-Hebert posted “10 Benefits of Reading: Why

You Should Read Every Day” on October 18, 2018. In it, she expressed useful information

regarding the advantages of reading daily. In today’s society, daily reading consists of, but not

limited to, tweets, facebook updates, and even directions on instant foods. That can change,

however, reading causes mental stimulation which has the potential to prevent Alzheimer’s and
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Dementia, and reduce stress levels. Stress reduction branches from becoming lost in a wonderful

story that transports the readers to other realms or dimensions, or even engages the reader in an

exhilarating article to distract from the issues one may face in the present. With any issue or

challenge a person may face, knowledge becomes the greatest weapon to find solutions because

knowledge cannot be taken away. In any case, information goes hand in hand with expanding

vocabulary. Articulation, a boost in self-esteem, and improvements in speaking and writing

fluency are all benefits that stem from vocabulary expansion. Winter-Hebert mentions memory

improvement as another positive, which forms synapses, similar to branches on a tree of

knowledge. The synapses occurring during reading reinforce short term memory to become long

term memory, and strengthen the retained information. Because of reading, people can analyze

and take note of specific details, and this skill becomes an important trait to have. In a multitude

of professions, the ability to analyze and critique, and have deductive reasoning are strong assets.

For instance, if someone’s job is to critique a mystery novel, the skill of analytical thinking

proves most helpful in solving the mystery of the novel along with making a judgment regarding

the characters, plot and setting. Within the article, improved focus and concentration is stated to

be another benefit to reading. Nowadays, people’s attention is diverted and split among multi

tasking activities, which spikes an increase in stress levels, thus lowering productivity. This

domino effect seems to accurately describe the daily life of a teenager, however, reading daily

may result in a decrease in this downward spiral. In reference to the vocabulary expansion,

writing skills will be positively influenced by reading due to the increased knowledge content.

The tenth benefit Winter-Hebert mentions involves entertainment, where a reader can transport

themselves to new worlds with the endless reading material available and not be bored.
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Tedious or not, reading will continue to be utilized and beneficial. The April 11, 2013

article “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens”, written by

Ferris Jabr, a writer for Scientific American as well as other companies, spoke of the cognitive

variables and effects of reading books versus reading on screens. When people approach

computers, normally their state of mind starts off with less motivation toward learning. This

mentality could have something to do with being easily distracted or having the option to attempt

to multitask, but ends up causing a person to be less productive. In any text, reading constructs

mental representations and allows one to focus on the entirety of the text by forming a coherent

mental map. Typically, focus becomes more clear in books or on paper documents, whereas on

screens, reading can become blurred, where differentiation of passages and words no longer

appear distinct. On screens, the ephemeral, or breif, image displayed shows no obvious shape or

thickness, whereas contrast print has a discernible size, shape, and weight. Even though articles

are found and read on screens, annotating or marking up the page proves more challenging on a

screen, than if a student highlights or writes comments in the margins on a paper copy. In a 2011

survey at the National Taiwan University, the majority of the graduate students admitted that

even they print out their online articles for more in-depth reading. Also, a 2003 study, at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico, resulted in 80% of their 687 students choosing

paper in order to “understand it with clarity”. For the most part, in terms of clarity, e-ink can be

considered better than the virtual ink screens project. E-ink has ambient light that resembles a

book’s reflective quality, whereas the illuminated screens cause eyestrain, headaches, and

blurred vision for 70% of people who work in front of computers for a prolonged period of time.

The American Optometric Association calls this “computer vision syndrome”. Whether it

involves computer vision syndrome or not, reading on screens, and even on paper, demands
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more physical and mental resources. Testing 72 volunteers at Karlstad University in Sweden,

researcher Erik Wastlund conducted various experiments in which one yielded the conclusion

that the physical and cognitive resources devoured in reading cause high stress levels and

fatigue. In particular, those 72 volunteers felt affected by reading on screens. Reading on paper

does not seem to require as much mental energy as reading on screens because a person has the

ability not to let the words and passages blur into one mush of letters, as well as not become

distracted. With that in mind, people seem to have a preconceived mental attitude toward

technology. In a 2005, at San Jose State University in Northern California, Ziming Liu had 113

people surveyed with responses expressing “people reading on screens take a lot of shortcuts”,

which in all fairness, accurately describes the current division of attention nowadays.

Metacognitive learning regulation can resolve this division of attention, by “setting specific

goals, rereading difficult sections and checking how much one has understood along the way”,

but screen reading has people less inclined to do so. Usually, because people start with little

motivation when reading, applying time as a pressure to retain information could be an effective

means to learn. In a 2011 experiment at the Israel Institute of Technology, researchers gave a

limited amount of time for students to study a piece of work, and also allowed another group of

students, an unlimited amount of time to review a piece of work. Following this task, both

groups then answered multiple choice questions on an exam. The experiment concluded that

people reading both on screens and on paper had done equally well, but those who read on

“paper approached the exam with a more studious frame of mind than their screen-reading peers”

possibly due to short term memory becoming long term memory. In short term memory, the

brain registers the processed information, but the information is not sorted and saved into the

“brain’s storage”. With long term memory, the information becomes a part of the neural net, the
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“brain’s storage”, through repeated exercise and exposure to the info. In the future, engineers,

designers, and many user-interface experts could create fully immersive reading methods, but

until then, there are many cognitive variables and effects cause by reading on screens as

compared to on paper. As a rule, reading on paper is better for strong analysis and interpretation,

and screen-reading for shorter texts.

No matter the rule, personal preferences seem to have a greater influence when it comes

to choosing a mode of reading. November 7, 2017, “Students Choose Digital Over Print, But At

What Cost?” written by Tim Walker, a writer for the National Education Association, allows Dr.

Patricia Alexander, an educational psychologist at the University of Maryland, to give her

thoughts on reading digitally instead of reading in print. According to Alexander, when it comes

down to which medium is better for reading, digital wins. Digital devices prove to be much more

popular because of the speed of technology, which gives the illusion of faster processing. Faster

processing, however, does not equal faster comprehension of text or faster analysis of details, nor

faster retainment of information. When students finish first, other students perceive their peers

are better, or smarter, in some way. Thus, speed can align with intelligence, but actually speed

results in a deficit of learning compared to print. In printed texts, deeper learning and critical

analysis are rated as more effective. So, when a student chooses to read on a screen, a disruptive

effect occurs. The student will lose continuity and a sense of location within the text. Just the

scrolling of a page causes those effects, and in a person’s mind, the words may end up into word

soup. In today’s society, there are teachers push students to take online courses, except the

teachers’ reasonings are pragmatic, rather than for the desire to improve learning. Since people

are typically in a rush, learning is no exception to this fast paced belief in society now in which

learning in reality, will be hindered rather than benefitted from the speed. Online courses are, of
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course, more convenient, though a person’s learning should not pay the price for speed. Dr.

Alexander is against the use of smart technology, and even though she can only speak to her

knowledge at college campuses, she believes students are now too controlled by technology. The

source notes that this situation is similar to that of Ivan Pavlov’s theory of the conditioning

process. Pavlov conducted an experiment on his dog to condition, or train him to react a certain

way to Pavlov’s chosen reactor, instead of the original cause of the reaction. Now in terms of

technology and print, people are conditioned to use technology more often, than print. Aside

from this ripple effect, whether or not it is deemed appropriate to use resources online depends

on the assignment or task given, based on what the requirements are and if the task would need a

deeper level of thinking. Undoubtedly, technology will be used and Dr. Alexander advises

people to take the time and stop to self-reflect and summarize what exactly a person is reading

about on the screen. This stopping can cause people to be more regulatory and more self-aware.

Along with this advice, Dr. Alexander suggests carrying a notebook to keep a trace of what the

student been viewed in the digital text. This practice is extremely helpful in preventing a constant

illusion of knowing when the facts are misled, or unresearched online articles, or from hearsay.

Now it has become more common for digital reading to outweigh the choice of print.

Since the rise in digital reading is continual, there are some setbacks to this version of

comprehension. On July 20, 2016 Naomi Baron, an executive director for a center for teaching,

research, and learning american university wrote and article, “Do students lose depth in digital

reading?” Students typically have a preference to read online or paper copies. Some computer-

based media includes e-books and websites like wattpad and various educational resources.

These resources are more accessible, cheaper, convenient, and allow for multitasking. According

to the data gathered from 429 university students, “...print is ‘real reading’...they could ‘see’ and
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‘feel’ where they were in the text.” Both digital media and print have commendable properties.

In print, many people prefer to be able to make notes, read slowly and carefully, and stay

focused. Whereas on screens, students have stated it is easier to be distracted, have reduced or no

concentration, and it is “not the sort of reading likely to nurture the critical thinking we still talk

about”. Despite these criticisms, the adaptations to digital reading has become life-like varying in

adjustments in screen lighting to animated page flipping. Except, the article states that students

report the smell of paper adds to the ‘real reading’ concept that technology cannot duplicate.

When it comes down to digital or print, it depends on a person’s style of learning as well as

where their preference lie, however, print has proven to be more effective with school work.

Efficiency in school related work is not the only advantage that print reading leads. David

Klein, CEO and president of Macromack Inc., posted “What Are the Advantages of Print Media

Over Electronic Media?” on August 29, 2018, and addressed the benefits in using print media for

various advertising uses. Klein asserts that print media is easy and affordable, effective in

spreading awareness, and offers easy budgeting. With electronic media, flexibility and more

imaging options are offered. In terms of flexibility, online advertisements and electronic media

can be changed and re-uploaded a multitude of times to attract the intended crowds. As for

imaging options, animations and three dimensional pictures offer a sense of depth and

entertainment for audiences. Print media has more advantages, however, including higher

frequency of viewing, control over appearance, attention, credibility increasing reader loyalty,

and a more accurate targeting. Over the years, this paper media creates piles of untouched clutter

in households and allowed for more frequent viewing of these ads when cleaned out eventually.

With paper media, advertisements play a major role in appearance, which is dictated by the

typography, color, graphics, and design. Specific designs on the ads can trigger emotional
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reactions from a targeted audience to persuade it toward the company’s goal in gaining profit.

The final published ad design will hold the attention of the reader and they will be more

receptive to it as well. Readers feel included when a printed ad is meant to be seen by them,

rather than an online ad popping up at random to gain attention. When reading print, people are

less likely to do multiple tasks at the same time, thus they will be more focused on what is

written or drawn on a page. Advertisements take time to design, plan, and execute, which makes

printed flyers more meaningful compared to easily changeable online ads. Since such effort goes

into the distributed print, the information sold is believed and trusted by the readers to be

credible and accurate. This trust leads to reader loyalty created by specific audience targeting

through the product’s intended crowd. By targeting certain people, advertising directly adds a

sense of emotion and personality that addresses the people in a familiar sort of way. In society

still, many forms of print media are in use daily and includes newspapers, magazines, catalogs,

and books.

Within those forms of print media, advertisers are known to be quite sneaky in their

tactics. “8 Tricks to Attract User Attention” posted on July 13, 2018 by Andrew Smith, a social

media marketer, former web developer, and writer for QArea, discusses psychological devices

used to captivate readers in general media. The eight tricks begin with surprise, in which Smith

mentions pleasure centers in the brain turned on due to pleasant unpredicted events, which

stimulate a part of people’s brains. This stimulation is one reason behind why people

subconsciously prefer surprises over what is expected. Typically what people desire are answers

to questions, questions that pick at people’s curiosity to lure them into wanting to know more.

Questions are powerful brain influencers, and this curiosity becomes an effective tool for

advertisers or possibly a simple way to plant doubt in others. This psychological phenomenon
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called the curiosity gap distinguishes what a person knows and what he or she wants to know.

From this gap, a feeling of deprivation exists for people due to lack of knowledge, thus with

minimal information, people are intrigued to learn more. Another aspect of such manipulation

from advertisers includes the benefit of using negative promotion using how unexpected they are

compared to positives. Negative words tap into people’s insecurities with “stop” and “avoid” in

order to tempt them into knowing more about what not to do. Naturally, people will be curious

and desire to be more knowledgeable. Seeing as how people wish to know more, through the use

of headlines containing “how to”, this gives the reader a sense of predictability. The

predictability touches the part of the reader that understands what is about to be read. When

someone hears or sees “how to”, they hope to find shortcuts to make accomplishing a simple task

more efficiently. In the world of efficiency, a need for predictability exists, where uncertainty

leads to expectation management. Another play on advertising is when the speaker refers to the

audience as “you” to make the audience feel connected, which then feeds self- interests like

needs, desires, and emotions. Those self- interests eventually cause trouble, and in those

instances the brain focuses on problem solving and the self due to the primal survival instincts

that are innate. The eighth trick mentioned by Smith speaks of facts forming images through

specific details. The details may include numbers, names, examples, and lab or test results,

which provide clarity and assurance of credibility. These eight deceptive psychological tricks,

are clever and useful for catching the attention of viewers, but people should take caution when

falling prey to these devices.

Conclusion

Given all the benefits and setbacks known, in the end, the results reveal that either way,

reading exudes assets yet it can be draining. Throughout this topic, I discovered this irony in
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experiencing the the advantages and drawbacks of reading both on a screen and on paper. In the

long run, these effects will continue to alter people of all ages in ways that may be positive to

some and negative to all in regards to psychological and physical health. I believe that this topic

is important for anyone of any age because reading is not just a hobby picked up or an

assignment given by a teacher, but rather it is a life skill, a language, and a part of everyday

culture. Originally, my thoughts starting out in this inquiry had a slight bias toward print reading,

but through research, my opinion shifted to a more neutral ground. The initial thoughts were

dictated by stereotypical ideas, though after some in depth analysis, I see both sides of the story

and believe that the mode of reading depends on the circumstance and reasoning. Within the

literature review, the text was organized based on reasoning. Beginning with the reasons why

reading is important, to the various perspectives on reading on a screen versus on paper as well

as some aspects of how reader audiences are gained and kept. The details each source provided

supported each other in a way that I felt added to the reading. I believed that the reading

functioned better by commencing with reasons to read, then going into the two sides of scanning

information. In the future, I hope for reading to be more advanced, benefiting health instead of

damaging it. In retrospect, I now understand my senior project more than I had before because of

the fact that changes can have positive and negative effects, yet it is the choice made by a person

that makes all the difference. When the time comes, I look forward to viewing the movie along

with my friends, peers, and acquaintances to look back on the moments in which we have

changed.
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Works Consulted

Baron, Naomi. “Do Students Lose Depth in Digital Reading?” The Conversation, The

Conversation, 5 Sept. 2018,

www.theconversation.com/do-students-lose-depth-in-digital-reading-61897.

Jabr, Ferris. “The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens.”

Scientific American, 11 Apr. 2013, www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-

screens/.

Klein, David. “What Are the Advantages of Print Media Over Electronic Media?” Macromark,

22 June 2018,

www.macromark.com/blog/what-are-the-advantages-of-print-media-over-electronic-

media.

Smith, Andrew. “Headline Psychology: 8 Tricks to Attract User Attention.” Neil Patel, Neil

Patel, 13 July 2018, www.neilpatel.com/blog/headline-psychology/.

Walker, Tim. “Students Choose Digital Over Print, But at What Cost?” NEA Today, 7 Nov.

2017,

www.neatoday.org/2017/11/07/print-vs-digital-reading/.

Winter-Hébert, Lana. “10 Benefits of Reading: Why You Should Read Every Day.” Lifehack,

Lifehack, 18 Oct. 2018,

www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/10-benefits-reading-why-you-should-read-

everyday.html.