24 May,2011 01:36 PM IST | | ANI
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have concluded that increased usage of computer leads to poor reading habit among children
This trend was primarily observed among 9-10-year olds in different countries.
A research team led by Prof. Monica Ros ufffdn of the Department of Education and Special Education studied how pupils'' reading skills have changed since 1970.
They discovered that reading ability has improved steadily in Italy and Hungary, while it has fallen rapidly since 1991 in the US and Sweden.
Researchers noticed a large increase in the use of computers by the Swedish and American pupils in their free time, whereas, a similar increase was not reported in Hungary or Italy.
"Our study shows that the entry of computers into the home has contributed to changing children''s habits in such a manner that their reading does not develop to the same extent as previously. By comparing countries over time we can see a negative correlation between change in reading achievement and change in spare time computer habits which indicates that reading ability falls as leisure use of computers increases", said Ros ufffdn.
The study shows that the frequency of leisure reading and the number of leisure books borrowed from the library have both fallen as computer use in homes has increased.
"It is important that we do not jump to the conclusion that the complete explanation for poorer reading is deficiencies in education. On the contrary, the way in which computers undermine reading shows very clearly that leisure time is at least as important when it comes to developing high-quality reading skills", Ros ufffdn added.
