Electronic Books Ideal for Those 60+

A new study has suggested that electronic reading devices are easier for seniors to read than a printed book, The Telegraph in the UK reported. The Telegraph quoted a study done at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany which suggests that seniors are able to read pages on an e-reader three to four seconds faster than pages on printed paper.Whilst all groups had no problem understanding the text on every platform, the older participants took 3 to 4 seconds longer to finish a page on printed paper than on a digital device.

By contrast the younger group took the same amount of time to read all of the texts on all reading devices without a change in brain activity.

The researchers have suggested that backlit electronic devices provide increased contrast between the text and background, making reading easier for older people.

Ironically it is adults over 60 who are least likely to buy digital books with digital sales most popular among adults under 50.

Although the number of participants in the study is relatively small, the perception that printed books are easier to read than electronic books may be cultural rather than cognitive.

Electronic books have continued to grow in popularity and some digital books are now outselling printed books on websites such as Amazon in the US and in the UK.

The advantages and disadvantages of electronic books have been widely discussed as the format has increased in popularity, including that most e-readers are lighter than an average paperback and one device can hold thousands of books.

There has been anecdotal evidence from those suffering from arthritis finding electronic books easier to use since only a single click of a button is required to turn a page.

Font size can be automatically adjusted as can the number of words per page for those who struggle to read standard font size.

However a potential obstacle to all this technology is that these skills need to be learned and the reader needs to be willing to learn how to use the device to take advantage of the technology.