Digital books are not easier to read than paper ones.
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Since 2000, despite the widespread use of digital books, students and schoolchildren from both wealthy and disadvantaged backgrounds have reported less access to literature. This follows from the data of the study of the International Program for the Assessment of Educational Achievement (PISA). So, if in 2000 the former declared that 250 books were available to them in the household of their residence, and the latter about 130 books, then by 2018 these figures were reduced to 215 and 110 books, respectively. As the authors of the study note, trends in developed and developing countries could differ. In Germany and the Netherlands, students from well-to-do families reported that the number of books available to them did not change between 2000 and 2018, while for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, this figure fell by 23% in Germany and 33% in the Netherlands. In Chile and Mexico, a generation later, the number of books available to the well-to-do students has grown, while the number of books available to the disadvantaged has declined. PISA is talking about e-books (very often de facto free) and paper books (which have risen significantly in price over the past 20 years).
During the study, students were also asked about the format in which they prefer to read. On average across OECD countries, almost a third of respondents (35%) said they rarely or never read, and the same number (36%) said they read paper books more often. 15% are more likely to read books on digital devices, 12% use both formats. On average across OECD countries, students who reported reading books “more often on paper” or “equally often on paper and on a digital device” had more books available at home, with 195 and 179 books, respectively. Students who read digital books more than analog books own an average of 131 books, while those who declared a dislike of reading in general have a comparable 113 books. Access to more books may explain why students who read paper and non-fiction books generally perform better on PISA reading literacy tests. The result of the former averaged 70 points (out of 100), the result of reading books in two formats was 50 points, students who declared their dislike for reading in any form scored less than 20 points on tests.
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