January-February 2020 – Intergraf, the European Federation for Print and Digital Communication, has released a study concerning the effects of reading and studying on paper as compared to studying on electronic devices or screens.
The study found evidence that reading from paper is much more beneficial than reading from a screen. The report states “…the digital disadvantage during elementary school was found to be two-thirds of the yearly increase in reading comprehension, meaning that students potentially only progressed one-third as much as they would have done had they been reading on paper instead of on a screen.” Additionally, the report found that even for younger generations, reading printed texts is still advantageous. Intergraf concluded that “young people who have grown up in the age of digitalization still read better on paper.”
