printMedia landscape changes and current reading practices
Nazarov M.M.
Dr. Sci. (Polit.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Socio-Political Research of Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia vy175867@yandex.ru
Kovalev P.A.
Cand.Sci.(Soc.), Analytical center Vi, Moscow, Russia PKovalev@ vi.ru
Nazarov M.M., Kovalev P.A. Media landscape changes and current reading practices. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2017. No 2. P. 84-95
The phenomenon of reading is a key element of sociocultural activities. Importantly, reading is “built in” media consumption in general. No less important is that the media environment of modern society has been going through a profound transformation last 5 to 7 years. Within these circumstances, the project focusses on the following research questions. What is the place of reading (newspapers, magazines, books – both printed and electronic) in today’s media consumption? How television and various online activities affect reading? What determines electronic book consumption nowadays? What are the social consequences of ever more popular digital reading? Empirical data came from representative surveys of communication behavior of urban population in Russia (15+ years old; year 2010: N=3000, and 2014: N=2100). Formalized personal interviews at home have been used. Several statistical procedures used for testing our hypotheses, including logistic regression. The research proves that using electronic devices for reading books, newspapers and magazines is gaining popularity among Russian audiences. We found that preference for digital reading is primarily predicted by sociodemographic variables, incumbent practice of other media usage, and ownership of new communication devices. Social implications of digital reading are analyzed using concepts of media displacement and mediatization. We assume that digital reading is changing earlier practices of text perception as well as cognition in general. The results are discussed within the context of today’s discourse about the place of reading in connection with: information overload of contemporary people; diminishing traditional consumption of books; traits of new digital generations; and the dilemma of “book” versus “screen” culture which is an essential part of modern and postmodern personality. Discussing Russian prospects, we use cross-country comparisons that allow us to show the varying pace of innovation in book consumption and the role of social and cultural context.
Butenko I. (2001) Teenagers: Reading and PC Usage. Sociologicheskie Issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 12: 84–91. (In Russ.).
Dimmick J., Rothenbuhler E.W. (1984) Competitive displacement in the communication industry: New media in old environments. In: The New Media. Edited by R. Rice. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Dmitriev I. (2011) Shest’ voprosov izdatelyu. V kachestve russkogo guslyara [Six Questions to Publisher. As a Russian Guslar]. Literaturnaya Gazeta. April 6–12. (In russ.).
Dubin B., Zorkaya N. (2009) Reading and Society in Russia in 2000’s. Sociologicheskie Issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 7: 61–77. (In Russ.).
Eriksen Th.H. (2003) Tiraniya momenta. Vremya v epokhu informatsii [Tyranny of the Moment Fast and Slow Time in the Information Age]. Moscow: Ves’ Mir. (In Russ.).
Fiske J. (1991). Television and Postmodernism. In: Mass Media and Society. Edited by J. Curran, M. Gurevitch. London: Edward Arnold.
Fortunati L., Vincent J. (2014) Sociological Insights on the Comparison of Writing/Readingon Paper with Writing/Reading Digitally. Telematics and Informatics. Vol. 31. No. 1: 39–51.
Girenok F.I. (2016) Klipovoe soznanie [Clip consciousness]. Moscow: Prospekt. (In russ.).
Gomez J. (2009) Print is Dead: Books in our Digital Age. New York: Macmillan.
Holmes D., Jones P. (2011) Key Concepts in Media and Communications. London: Sage.
Ivanova R.F. (1967) Pervyy opyt konkretnykh sotsiologicheskikh issledovaniy v sovetskoy pechati [First Essays in Particular Sociological Research in Soviet Press]. Vestnik. Moscow City University. Series 11: Journalism. No. 2: 54–55. (In Russ.).
Jeong H. (2012) A Comparison of the Influence of Electronic Books and Paper Books on Reading Comprehension, Eye Fatigue, and Perception. The Electronic Library. Vol. 30. No. 3: 390–408.
Kang Y., Wang M.J., Lin R. (2009) Usability Evaluation of E-books. Displays. Vol. 30. No. 2: 49–52.
Kayany J. M., Yelsma P. (2000) Displacement Effects of Online Media in the Socio-technical Contexts of Household. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Vol. 44. No. 2: 215–229.
McLuhan M. (2003a). Galaktika Gutenberga. Sotvorenie cheloveka pechatnoy kul’tury [The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man]. Kiev: Nika Press. (In Russ.).
McLuhan M. (2003b) Ponimanie media: vneshnie rasshireniya cheloveka [Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man]. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. (In Russ.).
Mikhaylova N. (2015) Suzhayushcheesya prostranstvo knig [The receding space of books]. Literaturnaya gazeta. December 17–23.
Nazarov M.M. (2014) TV and the Internet: A Typology of Russian Media Consumption. Sociologicheskie Issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 6: 116–126. (In Russ.).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2013). V Rossii chitayut vse men’she knig [Book Reading in Decline in Russia]. Nezavisimaya Gazeta. April 24.
Nielsen J. (2000) Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing.
Park E., Sung J., Cho K. (2015) Reading Experiences Influencing the Acceptance of e-book Devices. The Electronic Library. Vol. 33. No. 1: 120–135.
Petrovskaya E. (2012) ‘Chelovek tekhnicheskiy’: o vzaimosvyazyakh interneta i literatury [‘Homo Technicus’: on the Connection between Internet and Literature]. Expert. No. 2: 96–98.
Postman N. (1995) Amusing Ourselfs to Death. In: “Media” Res: Readings in Mass Media and American Politics. Edited by J. P. Vermeer. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Pressman J. (2014) Digital Modernism: Making It New in New Media. Oxford: Oxford Scholarship Online.
Raeymaeckers K. (2002) Research Note: Young People and Patterns of Time Consumption in Relation to Print Media. European Journal of Communication. Vol. 17. No. 3: 369–385.
Rubakin N. (1895) Etyudy o chitayushchey publike [Etudes on the reading public]. St. Petersburg. (In Russ.).
Shumakov S. (2015) V budushchee smotryu s nekotorym optimizmom [My prospects are somewhat optimistic]. Literaturnaya gazeta. December 3–9. (In Russ.).
Staley D. (2012) Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians: Scenarios for the Future of the Book. Ohio: Ohio State University Publishers.
Talovov V.P. (1973) O chitatel’skoy psikhologii i teoreticheskikh osnovakh ee izucheniya [On Reader Psychology and the Theoretic Base of its Research]. Leningrad. (In Russ.).
Velagić Z. (2014) The Discourse on Printed and Electronic Books: Analogies, Oppositions, and Perspectives. An International Electronic Journal. Vol. 19 No. 2: 619. URL: http://www.informationr.net/ir/19–2/paper619.html#.Vs3CgU6AMrI (accessed 19.02.2015).
Wilson T.D. (2014) The e-book Phenomenon: a Disruptive Technology. An International Electronic Journal. 19(2): 612. http:// www.informationr.net/ir/19–2/paper612.html#.Vh_MickWbdk (accessed 19.02. 2015).
Zorkaya N. (2003) Chtenie v kontekste massovykh kommunikatsiy [Reading in the Context of Mass Communications]. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Soсial Changes. No. 2: 60–70. (In Russ.).