Skimpy reading

I've said it before: reading on the web isn't easy. In fact it's about 25% slower than hard copy reading*.

Reading on a screen is not natural. In the first place, our eyes have to cope with the glare. After a time, and the time varies according to several factors such as eye-sight, age and familiarity with what we might call 'screen reading', the eyes tire more quickly than with hard copy reading. Many people who spend their working day in front of a screen have gritty eyes and headaches by the end of the day.

There are other physical effects of web reading. When holding a book or a magazine in our hands, we have a close physical connection with the text. Norwegian web researcher, Anne Mangen, believes that the web creates a distance between reader and text. This distance is made wider by the need to use a mouse or scrolling with keys or pads; and of course the screen itself is a barrier. Mangen argues that this distance between reader and text leads to shallow reading because the readers skim text quickly. Readers do not want to spend time analysing or considering what they read.

E-book readers such as Kindle, Sony Reader and Barnes and Nobles Nook have been developed as an attempt by the book and computer industries to overcome the problems of on-screen reading.

World renowned web reading and usability researcher, Jakob Nielsen, agrees that most web readers read text quickly. His research also shows that this quick skim reading means that readers 'take in' an average of only 20% of the text our eyes have floated over.

Nielsen has also drawn attention to how the structure of websites means that we read in chunks, fragments of texts. Again this is quite different to having a hard copy book, article or magazine in your hands.

The result of these factors is what I call 'skimpy reading' - a superficial, skimming style of reading. This in turn has major implications for how people write for web reading and includes content, design and writing style.

Clearly the content of website articles, blogs, commercial promotions and so on have to be to the point and some would say 'shallow', that is not full of in-depth analysis or argument. Website articles need to short and presented in clear, easily read design, without interference from colours or graphic designs. Lines of text also need to be short to make reading easier. Sentences should also be short and texts written in an informal, almost chatty style. These are some of the ways that can help to overcome the problems of on-screen, 'skimpy' reading.
Learning how to write effective website content is a whole new ball game!

* Nielsen www.useit.com

http://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com

http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2009/06/19/paper_vs_computer_screen/

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/percent-text-read.html