”Det är bättre att läsa ur en ”normal” bok” : en studie om attityder till eböckerbland gymnasieelever på Åland

Sammanfattning: The younger generation is reportedly not reading anymore and the older generation is concerned. What can be done to make today's youth read more and can libraries be a part of projects which promote reading amongst young people? Some researchers suggest that the digital natives would perhaps be more interested in reading if they were able to read from a screen. But what do the young people say about e-books? Do they read e-books and is it possible that reluctant readers could be encouraged to read more if they got the option of a reading from a tablet? The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes towards e-books and to see if students from a high school on the Åland Islands prefer one medium over the other. The study further wants to look into the reasons why, or why not they prefer e-books. Two groups of readers are compared with each other: avid readers and reluctant readers, in order to see if there is any difference between them concerning their attitude towards the e-book. Data was collected through a survey which was completed by 55 students aged between 16-18. The theoretical framework builds upon Mats Dolatkhah's ideas of materiality and modality of reading and texts. The results of this study show that the students are not fond of e-books and they actively state that they don't want everything in their lives to be dominated by technology and screens. It is possible to argue that this negative attitude towards e-books has something to do with the materiality of the medium. These results indicate that the young participants in this study aren't inclined to engage in reading with modern technology. The study also shows that the physical appearance of the printed book is a factor which contributes to the students' positive reading experiences.