Literacy Problems in the New Digital Reality (by the Example of Schoolchildren)

Abstract

The article centers on the problems of reading in the new digital reality associated with the appearance of texts of a new digital format and the changed reading practices. This issue becomes topical, as digital reading starts to prevail over traditional which affects individual readers and the educational system. We conducted a pilot study of the reading skills of fourth-grade students (106 people) and analysed their reading practices. Testing according to the method of L. Yasyukova showed that most pupils (70%) have incomplete reading skills. Our respondents spend more time on digital reading (searching for information and communicating with friends on the Internet) as compared to reading paper books. In classes where pupils spend more time on the Internet, a larger percentage of pupils showed incomplete reading skills. Based on the data obtained, we formulated a hypothesis that requires further verification. The time spent by pupils on the Internet and the amount of digital reading may affect the level of understanding of texts on paper.