Page 107 - AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report

READING
The Paper-Screen dilemma. Similarities and distinctive features of reading in both formats
The digital media are increasingly present in our environment. They have become a natural part of everyday life and we have come to regard them as indispensable tools for getting on in today’s changing hybrid society. With the de- velopment and spread of mobile devices, smart- phones and tablets have become increasingly familiar and are now our closest allies. They have completely conquered us at a dizzy pace, almost without our realising.
Just as the Internet of things is gaining ground and changing our lives, so too are perceptions and practices of reading and writing changing. Today it does not make sense to view digital reading in contrast to reading from paper, even though a few sectors are still set on doing so; instead, they should be regarded as complemen- tary aspects.
The solution is not to repeatedly emphasise conflicts but involves showing greater interest in learning about the changes, establishing connec- tions between the present and past in order to understand and be better prepared to explore the new avenues,2 as Professor José Antonio Cordón states:
The problem does not lie so much in the loss of reading abilities and skills, in one medium as op- posed to the previous one, but rather in a change in the reading practices and habits associated with different technological and cultural contexts. The appearance of mobile technologies and their wide- spread use has radically changed people’s habits, establishing patterns of behaviour that affect how information in general and reading in particular are consumed.3
We are readers in transition
To speak of reading and writing today is to refer to a host of situations intentions, materials, channels and formats. As Roger Chartier states4
AC/E DIGITAL CULTURE ANNUAL REPORT 2018
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Readers in the digital age