Print books have ‘uniquely comforting quality’ says new study.
A new study from Egmont Publishing on print and digital reading has found that print books help to reinforce the ’emotional bond and sense of connection’ between parent and child.
Entitled Print Matters, the study from Family Kids and Youth and the University of Sussex’s Children and Technology Lab set out to compare the experience of reading in print and on a digital device.
The findings suggest that most parents and children prefer reading print books rather than stories on screens.
Video analysis shows the calming effect of reading a print book and warmth and positivity increasing as both parent and child got into the story. By contrast, when reading an eBook, the analysis shows that emotional warmth drops over time.
The overarching theme was that print enables closeness, unlike screens, and reinforces the emotional bond and sense of connection between parent and child.
Alison David, consumer insight director at Egmont Publishing, said: “For parents, reading to their children is nothing less than an expression of love. It’s fun, deeply reassuring for children, calming and bonding – and its time off screen.
“And why is print loved by children? Apart from enjoying basking in parents’ attention, the hugs and reassurance when being read to, there is an important part about the physicality of a book and a magazine: collecting, owning and sorting is a key part of child development.
“In a world dominated by digital leisure time, children may feel even more need to have physical things.”
