Book on screen: study on the reading experience on computer

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to investigate how books are read on a computer. Digital media are gradually gaining ground as a support for reading in Brazil: computers are already present in 34.7% of households, and are used as media for reading by 9% of Brazilian readers. Given the importance of reading books, in particular of the aesthetic experience that literature provides for the individual education, we seek to know the characteristics of reading books on the screen, the perceptual qualities of this activity and the effects of this medium on the experience of reading. The research will involve a computer physiognomical analysis, inspired by the method developed by Theodor Adorno for studying the musical listening on the radio, as well as interviews with readers, young and adults. We will interview four volunteers, belonging to different generations (regarding the use of digital media), who will talk about their experiences of reading and choose a book to read on the computer. The book read will be discussed in a second interview. The interviews, semi-open, will be recorded, and analyzed based on categories developed for the specific analysis of the material produced. We hope to contribute to a better understanding of the ways we read today in Brazil, and how the ways of reading, that now is establishing, will tend to participate in the educational process.