Digital Reading in the Context of media-critical Discourses

Abstract

With the transformation of media in the context of digitization, reading is once again becoming a highly debated topic. Not only are fears being expressed that the end of the ‘Gutenberg Galaxy’ will set back the spread of reading as a cultural technique, but more recent debates discuss the consequences of ‘digital reading’ from pedagogical and neurophysiological perspectives. The aim of this paper is to analyze the media and cultural debates about the consequences of digital reading. The different varieties and reference discourses of the discussion will be distinguished and related to the history of discourses critical of reading. The pedagogical critique of ‘digital reading’ is based on the thesis that it can lead to a diminution of cognitive abilities. The materiality of reading media and the physicality of the reading process are attributed with far-reaching mental and psychological effects. Furthermore, from a culturally pessimistic perspective, the spread of digital reading is seen as a cultural caesura that threatens the ability to think critically and empathize. The central reference discourse for the plausibility of the alleged dangers of digital reading is neuroscientific studies.