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Darkening concerns ... a boy looking at digital tablet in bed.
Darkening concerns ... a boy looking at digital tablet in bed. Photograph: Alamy
Darkening concerns ... a boy looking at digital tablet in bed. Photograph: Alamy

Majority of parents worried about children's digital reading, survey finds

This article is more than 8 years old

Research by the BookTrust reveals concerns about youngsters’ screen time, attention span and loss of interest in print books

The majority of parents are concerned about their children using interactive ebooks, according to a new survey, with respondents suggesting they feared ebooks would negatively affect their children’s attention span or expose them to inappropriate content.

More than 1,500 parents of UK children aged up to eight were surveyed by the reading charity BookTrust in association with the Open University. Asking parents about their children’s use of digital media and ebooks, the researchers found that most were worried about interactive ebooks, with only 8% having no concerns about their offspring’s use of the medium.

Concerns ranged from the fact that use of interactive ebooks would increase children’s screen time, a worry for 45% of parents, to the fear that children could lose interest in print books as a result, cited by 35%. More than a quarter of parents also believed that interactive ebooks would affect a child’s attention span, while 31% felt they could expose children to inappropriate content.

“Parents thought that print books are ‘better’ for children’s eyes, that they give their children ‘less headaches’ and also are better for their children’s healthy sleep,” wrote the researchers. “They also pointed out that, unlike print books, digital books require greater care when handling. Some parents also voiced concerns about social risks associated with reading digital books, especially in terms of children’s addiction: ‘more addiction with interactive books’.”

The researchers believe there is a need to “seriously address the concerns of parents around using digital books with their children” because “it’s clear that as children get older they will read more digital material”. They suggest that “those who have discovered the digital world with their parents may be more discerning readers and be less vulnerable to the allure of inappropriate or poor quality content”.

According to the survey, The Digital Reading Habits of Children, print books remain the preferred reading format for children, with only 19% of children using an e-reader daily, and 57% never using one. Seventy-six per cent of parents cited print as a favoured format when reading for pleasure, compared to the 30% who cited interactive ebooks, and the 15% who cited simple ebooks. Print also came out top for educational reading, with 69% enjoying the format, compared to 34% for interactive ebooks and 15% for simple ebooks.

Parents whose children preferred print said the reasons for this ranged from their child liking to turn pages (52%), to their child enjoying owning a print book (43%) or choosing one from a library (41%).

BookTrust chief executive Diana Gerald said that “children will read online sooner or later”, and that it is “far better they are guided in their use through the eyes of a common-sense parent or carer than they are left to explore alone”.

“BookTrust is an unrivalled fan of printed books, but we must all embrace the digital world, as children are growing up using many different platforms for their reading. What’s fantastic is that even reluctant readers are probably reading more now than ever if you take account of ebooks, social media, gaming narrative, Facebook, texting, Twitter and online forums,” said Gerald.

“However, some parents think digital reading has no place in shared family life. They think they might contaminate children’s’ reading experiences if they endorse digital books, but this need not be the case. When used thoughtfully, in partnership with printed books, digital books can enhance and encourage children’s reading for pleasure and can encourage further reading with print books.”

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