Over the years people have stopped going to bookstores and libraries, stopped buying newspapers and magazines, with many having switched to reading on their phones or other electronic devices. There are those that are adamant that the only true way to read something is in a physical form, and they may not be wrong. Along with increase in eye strain and headaches, some research suggests reading on devices lowers reading comprehension. Researchers wanted to look into the impact of electronic devices on comprehension by looking at respiratory functioning and brain functioning.
The study took 34 Japanese university students and had them participate in two reading trials. They were asked to either read text from a novel on a phone or on paper. While reading the texts the participants wore NIRS headbands that are used to measure prefrontal cortex activity, and masks to measure respiratory activity. Finally, they were asked to complete a comprehension test about what they had read.
The researchers found the students had higher levels of comprehension when reading from paper, rather than a phone. They also found that students sighed more when reading from paper. It is thought that people increase sighing when they are doing something demanding. Interestingly though, the researchers found more activity in the prefrontal cortex when reading from a phone, even though sighs and comprehension were lower.
While the increased brain activity and decreased sighing is a strange result, researchers postulate that the interaction between the two might be the reason for the decreased comprehension, “…Those who read on a smartphone, the more intense cognitive load prevented sighing, leading to elevated brain activity.”
More research needs to be done with different age demographics, as these participants were all around 20 years old, and have been using devices their entire lives.
Original Article: https://www.psypost.org/2022/04/reading-on-a-smartphone-promotes-overactivity-in-the-prefrontal-cortex-and-lowers-reading-comprehension-study-finds-62848
Study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-05605-0
