In July, 2017 I began a discussion about the value of writing out notes / homework in longhand rather than using a keyboard. In a similar vein, it appears that reading from paper uses the brain differently than reading from a screen.
Here are some quotes from an article I read recently:
“Neuroscience, in fact, has revealed that humans use different parts of the brain when reading from a piece of paper or from a screen. So the more you read on screens, the more your mind shifts towards ‘non-linear’ reading — a practice that involves things like skimming a screen or having your eyes dart around a web page.”
It appears that when you read on paper in a concentrated way, your brain does “deep reading” and if the brain doesn’t do that regularly, it can lose that capability. Dr. Maryanne Wolf (director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University), whose work I admire greatly, recommends reading on paper every day.
Another quote: “And now that children are seemingly growing up with a digital screen in each hand, Wolf says it’s also important that teachers and parents make sure kids are taking some time away from scattered reading. Adults need to ensure that children also practice the deeper, slow reading that we associate with books on paper.”
Here is the link: https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-18/your-paper-brain-and-your-kindle-brain-arent-same-thing
How much do YOU read from paper vs. from a screen? What do you think?
