Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

An illustrative excerpt from the article: Yes, reading is reading. But the emotional and intellectual process of reading on paper is vastly different from reading text on a computer screen. We call both activities “reading”, but I feel that since reading on a paper surface is so different from reading on a screen, both in how we “read” and what we retain in the reading process, that we need a new word or term for the kind of reading we do online now. I have suggested the term “screening”, just to get the global discussion started. Others have suggested words like “diging” (for digital reading), scanning, browsing, perusing, even screading and scranning.

Bloom admits that “reading is reading,” implying that electronic reading and book reading are not really so different. But then in the very next sentence he says that there are vast emotional and intellectual differences. Bloom doesn't provide any details about what these vast differences are, nor does he offer any evidence for this claim. Bloom mentions just one article he read in Scientific American that “got him thinking.” Of course, bloggers like Bloom don't need much to get them thinking about anything and everything. And I'm sure that Bloom would love it if he really could start a “global discussion” about this. Bloggers must blog. But it seems a bit ironic that a blogger would blog about the problems associated with reading online.

The SciAm article was written by Dr. Anne Mangen of Norway, whom Bloom says has done “pioneering work in the field of reading online.” I looked up this article, and it doesn't say anything surprising. Dr. Mangen is an associate professor of literacy studies. She “discovered” that the distractions of manipulating computers, and the distractions of multimedia features, such as video and animations, can interfere with our ability to focus on the actual reading material. It seems that Dr. Mangen focused her study on younger school-age children.

I'd like to note that even with traditional book reading, we have always had the option to “scan, browse, and peruse,” as well as skim. And then there is the reading of books while listening to music, eating, watching TV, riding on a noisy, crowded bus, and even while walking or driving. Yes, I have seen plenty of people read while walking and driving! Any of these ways of reading a book will impact our ability to focus.

While I wouldn't want to read Moby Dick on an electronic device, I have no doubt that if I did my level of comprehension would be the same as reading a book. But then, maybe my comprehension would improve with video and animation! Heck, I might even give Joyce's Ulysses another shot if I can get video and animation with it.

Do we need a new word for reading online? I don't think so. But what I think makes no difference. What Bloom thinks makes no difference, either. New words enter the lexicon regardless of whether they are “needed.” Even if the words screening or e-reading are adopted by some, or a majority, I'm still going to say I read something, whether on paper or on a screen. Just call me a reader without a cause!