E-books may inhibit student comprehension: studies

E-books may be the wave of the future, but it seems members of Generation Y — you know, the digital generation — still prefer their books in print, and find some aspects of e-reading to be clunky.

Researchers at the University of California and the California Digital Library recently released results of a survey that found a majority of students (58%) now use e-books, but most still prefer print formats. Of the 2,400 survey respondents who indicated a preference, 49% say they prefer print books, 34% prefer e-books, and 17% had no preference or described a preference that is usage-dependent.

Larger numbers of graduate students are more favorably inclined to e-books, but almost six out of ten undergrads indicated the highest preference for print books (58%). In fact, according to the survey report, “many undergraduate respondents commented on the difficulty they have learning, retaining, and concentrating while in front of a computer.”