Quote:
Originally Posted by llreader
I think we instinctively know this is not a good medium for reading long texts.
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It's not that the medium is not good for reading long texts... it's that it needs to be properly arranged to allow the reader to focus on content, and this is very often the opposite of what is done, especially on the web.
Reading text on the web, or on your computer, isn't much different than reading from a newspaper or magazine. All of them include "distractions," in the form of ads, other articles, headlines to other articles, etc, that clamor for your attention while you read. Those items are put there to make sure you see them... that's the point. Some people have no problem focusing out these distractions, while others have more trouble. If you've ever seen someone fold their newspaper so that only the article was visible, they are usually doing this to hide the unwanted elements on the page, to better focus on the desired content.
This can be done on a computer as well, setting screen size and resolution, application window size, display preferences, etc, to block many of the "distractions," such as other applications, sideline content, etc, from view. Many people don't go through the trouble of doing all this, hence, they are constantly distracted by these elements. Some people do this as second nature. And others can simply filter out the distractions mentally.
There are plenty of external distractions to deal with, as well, and these are similar whether you read paper or computer screens: Traffic noise, conversations, radios, shifting surroundings, all can impact concentration and thereby be a distraction. And again, some people are better at focusing past these distractions than others.
The "process" of sitting at a computer or holding a dedicated reader are relatively new, so those processes are being learned for the first time by everyone. But the new generations, who will be introduced to this as infants and deal with it forever, will be better able to deal with the differences and "distractions" that vex the rest of us. And just as we "oldsters" learned to move from full-sized typewriter keyboards to Blackberries (something most learned men said would never, ever happen), they will learn to develop the skills they need to keep up with the changes in technology.
For them, electronic reading will be "instinctual," and many of the things we debate today will only be history's footnotes to them.