The present paper explores some consequences of the ex pansion of modem electronic media on traditional reading culture. Considering the absence of any causal relationships in the relevant research, a distinction is introduced between central and peripheral uses of both media. It is claimed that the provision of information is more central to reading. while entertainment is more central to the electronic media, with the computer occupying some ambivalent position in this opposi tion, depending on the function to which it is put. In view of the possibility that the two media may, under certain cir cumstances, be in competition with each other, the quantitative rise in electronic media may pose a threat to leisure time reading. Given the expanding demand for highly developed literacy skills, any such development must be viewed with concern.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
O. Boyd-Barrett and P. Braham, eds., Media, Knowledge and Power ( Croom Helm & The Open University Press, London/Sydney, 1987).
2.
D.S. Degrosky , Television viewing and reading achievement of seventh and eighth graders, Eric Document Reproduction Service no. ED 215 291, 1981.
3.
E.L. Eisenstein , The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early Modern Times. 2 vols. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979).
4.
S. Gadberry and M. Schneider, Effects of parental restrictions on TV-viewing, Paper presented to the American Psychological Association, 1978.
5.
J. Goody, TheLogic of Writing and the Organization of Society (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge , 1986).
6.
R. Hornik , Television access and the slowing of cognitive growth, American Educational Research Journal15 (1) (1978) 1-16.
7.
H.E. Krugman , Brain wave measures of media involvement, Journal of Advertising Research11 ( 1971) 3-9.
8.
H.E. Krugman , Long-range social implications of the new developments in television technology, Paper presented at the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Asheville, NC, 1976.
9.
L. Meringoff , A story a story: The influence of the medium on children's apprehension of stories, Unpublished doctoral dissertation (Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1978).
10.
L. Meringoff , The influence of the medium on children's story apprehension, Journal of Educational Psychology72 (1980) 240-249.
11.
W.J.T. Mitchell , Iconology, Image.Text, Ideology (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL/ London. 1986).
12.
D.L. Moldenhauer , and W.H. Miller, Television and reading achievement, Journal of Reading23 (1980) 615-619.
13.
M. Morgan , Television viewing and reading: does more equal better? Journal of Communication30 (1) (1980) 159-165.
14.
M. Morgan and L. Gross, Reading, writing and watching: Television viewing, I.Q.. and academic achievement. Unpublished report (Annenberg School of Communication. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. PA, 1980).
15.
M. Morgan and L. Gross, Television and educational achievement and aspiration, in: D. Pearl, L. Bouthilet and J. Lazar, eds,: Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eightees. Volume II: Technical Reviews (National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, MD, 1982) pp. 78-90.
16.
J.P. Murray, Television and Youth: Twenty-Five Years of Research and Controversy (Boys Town Center for the Study of Youth Development, Boys Town. NE, 1980).
17.
J.P. Murray , and S. Kippax, Children's social behavior in three towns with differing television experience. Journal of Communication28 (1978) 19-29.
18.
S.B. Neuman , Television viewing and leisure reading: a qualitative analysis, Journal of Educational Research75 (1982) 299-304.
19.
N. Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (Viking Press, New York, 1985).
20.
G. Salomon, Interaction of Media. Cognition, and Learning (Jossey-Bass , San Francisco, CA, 1979).
21.
G. Salomon, Television watching and mental effort: A social psychological view, in: J. Bryant and D.R. Anderson, eds,: Watching TV, Understanding TV: Research on Children's Attention and Comprehension (Academic Press , New York, 1983).
22.
J.L. Singer, The power and limitations of television: A cognitive-affective analysis, in: P. Tannenbaum, ed., The Entertainment Functions of Television (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, 1980).
23.
J.L. Singer, and D.G. Singer, Television, Imagination. and Aggression: A study of preschoolers ( Lea Publishers, Hillsdale, NJ, 1981 ).
24.
J. Splaine , Television and its influence on reading, in: Educational Technology18 (6) (1978) 15-19.
25.
B. Ward et al., The relationship of students' academic achievement to television watching, leisure time reading and homework, ERIC Document Reproduction Service no. 236 249, 1983.
26.
R. Williams, Communications (Penguin. Harmondsworth , 1962).
27.
R. Williams, ed., Contact: Human Communication and its History (Thames and Hudson , London, 1986).
28.
M. Winn, ThePlug-in Drug: Television, Children and the Family (Viking Press, New York, 1977).
29.
D. Zuckerman et al., Television viewing, children's reading, and related classroom behavior, Journal of Communication30 (1) (1980) 166-174.
