The Economist claims Tablets have Revived Reading
It’s a classic refrain: modern people don’t read. But thanks to tablets, the Economist claims that is no longer true (if it ever was). They claim that tablets have driven up the consumption of the written word and that they are responsible for reinvigorating a dying medium.
They call it the “rebirth of reading,” and claim that it means we’ll have to fundamentally revisit how we approach publishing on the web and in print.
A few key points they mentioned in their presentation were:
- 42 percent of tablet readers read in-depth content often, and 40% read them at least occasionally
- Those on tablets a 3x more likely to read a new report compared to watching a video of it
- The eyes of the reader pay more attention on the writing on a tablet than on a screen
- 71% of tablet owners prefer reading over watching a video, compared to 50/50 in the public at large
They claim that we are in the third age of reading, the age of “lean back digital.” It was preceeded by “lean forward digital,” implying the social web and highly interactive content, and “lean back print,” which is completely static. “Lean back digital” combines the best of lean forward content with the best of print, to create an experience that is truly better than either of its predecessors.
If you have ever read the Economist on a tablet, you will know that there is some sense in what they describe. Their digital magazine is probably the best tablet newspapers available right now. And their claims that traditional media still needs to evolve, regardless of the model moving back towards something that they are comfortable with, rings true.
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