Reading narratives in print or digitized? Discussion among young adults in focus groups

This paper aims to focus on how young Swedish adults, 15-25 years old, and brought up with the internet, express their thoughts on reading narrative fiction in printed books and reading narrative fiction in digitized formats, this according to personal development and social as well as environmental orientation. Nine focus groups interviews were conducted covering theoretical and practical classes in upper secondary school in combination with pupils in folk high school. The results show that a kind of consensus was formulated in defense of reading printed books. Reading books is thought to be an intellectual and emotional experience allowing the reader his or her own interpretation and “to pain one´s own pictures”. This makes reading a sensuous experience which also affects memory. Digital reading is not, according to these results, a threat to reading narrative in printed books. According to this study, the book as an artifact is not threatened by e-books or other digital narratives.Sponsorship:Vetenskapsrådet