Do readers understand texts better on handheld devices or on paper?

By Feifei Wang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Meta-analytic reviews have found that readers understand texts slightly worse on screens than in print, particularly for expository texts and when time is constrained. This is called the “screen inferiority effect.” Given that most primary studies from these reviews used computers for on-screen reading, it remains an open question whether this is also true when using handheld devices for on-screen reading. To address this gap, a set of recent meta-analyses, one using a between-participant design and the other using a within-participant design, explored potential moderating factors for the screen inferiority effect on reading comprehension using handheld devices versus in print.

The review was comprised of 49 studies that met eligibility criteria, including that they: (1) compared reading on tablets or e-readers with reading in print; (2) involved participants who read independently; (3) were published or presented in English, Spanish, German, French, or Greek; and (4) were published after 2010.

Results from the two meta-analyses conducted in this study consistently showed that reading in print yielded higher reading comprehension scores than did reading on handheld devices, for both between-participant design (k = 38, g = -0.113) and within-participant design (k = 21, g = −0.103). In some cases, undergraduate students exhibited a higher screen inferiority effect than primary and secondary school students, as did participants assessed individually rather than in groups. The authors concluded that while handheld devices seem to offer a reading experience closer to printed books than do computers, they still negatively affect reading comprehension.