Japanese studies show that reading on a smartphone reduces reading comprehension

In recent years, with the spread of e-books, e-book versions are often released at the same time as paper books. E-books are very attractive because you can easily carry a large collection of books with a dedicated terminal or smartphone, but a new research team at Showa University announced the research result that 'reading with a smartphone will reduce reading comprehension'. did.

Reading on a smartphone affects sigh generation, brain activity, and comprehension | Scientific Reports
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-05605-0

The research team wrote ' Norwegian Wood ' (Book A) and ' Making Tasaki without Colors and His Year of Pilgrimage ' (Book B) to 34 subjects on paper books and electronic devices on smartphones. I had them read in one of the forms of the book and answered multiple questions about the content. The results showed that reading on a smartphone had a lower percentage of correct answers than reading a paper book. The graph below shows the number of correct answers when reading books A and B on a smartphone (S) and when reading a paper book (P), and when reading a paper book in both books A and B. You can see that the number of correct answers is significantly larger in.

The above experiment was performed while measuring the respiratory rhythm and brain response of the subject. As a result, it has become clear that reading on a smartphone reduces the number of deep breaths compared to reading a paper book. Checking the graph below showing the breathing rhythm of one of the subjects, when reading a paper book (red), he took three deep breaths while reading, while when reading with a smartphone (blue). You can see that) does not take a deep breath.

In addition, as a result of analyzing the activity of the prefrontal cortex during reading by optical topography (NIRS) , the prefrontal cortex is more active than when reading with a smartphone (blue) and when reading a paper book (red). Also became clear.

Previous studies have shown that increased cognitive load causes deeper breathing. However, this study showed that reading on a smartphone increases cognitive load but does not deepen breathing. From this result, the research team speculates that reading on a smartphone suppressed deep breathing. The research team also claims that when reading on a smartphone, 'deep breathing suppression' and 'prefrontal cortex overactivity' may interact to cause a decline in reading comprehension. '