Are people misreading our questions about reading?

Digital culture is sometimes so pervasive that we underestimate how much we read on screens, assuming that “real” reading occurs elsewhere.

I was reminded of this idea over the course of the semester as I listened to students and reviewed findings from my contributing writer-researchers. Students frequently report that they prefer reading physical books over digital versions. Perhaps. But they do not always account for just how much reading they actually do online.

Based on her interviews with several Black women students, Joyce Woodward came to similar conclusions. "Digital culture is so intertwined in the lives of Black readers that they don’t realize how they rely on it," she wrote. 

We have been asking students about their reading habits, and many say they prefer physical copies over digital ones. But it is also possible that they assume we mean something specific when we ask about “reading.” Do they think we are referring only to books? Only to assigned texts? Only to literature?

I see far fewer students attached to books the way I see them attached to their phones, constantly reading, scrolling, responding. The question may not be whether they read. The question may be whether we are asking about reading in ways that allow them to recognize the full range of what they already do.

Related:

• Notes on Black Readers & Digital Culture