Any olds on the board who have this problem care to weigh in? Those of you who don’t, have you heard of it? Why do you think it’s so?
This is something I’ve been hearing/seeing for almost my entire life - (I’m 25) mostly from people at least a generation older than me. When I was 10 in 1995, that meant as young as early 30s, so I don’t think it’s just failing eyesight with age*. And none of the 30 and 40-somethings I know these days, most of whom are fairly tech-savvy, say things like:
‘I can’t read on that screen.’ ‘I hate reading things on computers.’ ‘Print that out so I can read it!’ ‘I can’t remember anything I’ve read on a screen.’
Even my father, who has worked mostly with computers since 1987, has been like this since he was a young man. If he has to read anything of length on the computer, he always and still will print out pages and pages on paper so he can read it that way.
So, what explains this phenomenon? I guess it’s mostly just the fact that older people in this country grew up without screens as part of their daily life, and are more comfortable with text on paper.
*And anyway, my own eyes are all fucked up - one has amblyopia and reading, particularly on screens, is somewhat of a physical strain for both eyes as the good eye has to compensate for the wonky one, I often get headaches and eye pain from reading, but I’ve read entire books on the computer before and I never ‘print things out’. I certainly don’t feel like I retain text I’ve read on paper better.
That is interesting. I started with computers in 1981 and used them extensively daily since, even after retiring.
I can’t answer your question about old people, as I’m only 83 (:D), but for extensive reading of a document, I’m much rather have hard copy. Not so much a matter of difficulty reading the screen, but more of being more comfortable in a good chair, with a good light, and ability to use a highlighter, pencil for notes and shuffle pages.
And, for extensive reading, a backlighte4d screen is not as good as paper (or an eInk screen such as my Kindle has).
However, you may be right suggesting it is an age-related cultural thing. In one training course I took for volunteer work, the question as asked as to whether I could learn better by hearing a recording, watching a video, or reading. I definitely know I can learn better by reading. I noted that most of my generation picked that, while the younger ones picked listening to a recording.
Disregarding older people who just never learned to use a computer, or don’t like one, I don’t think your question can be answered. I know a very large number of older people who use computers regularly, but have no idea how many might prefer to read onscreen or on hard copy.
Perhaps some studies have been done on this, so you might Google that, or wait for more replies to your OP.
There’s one theory that the screen flicker causes problems when reading lines of text… as you get to the end of a line your eye picks up the flicker of the screen refresh in your peripheral vision.
Because we’re hard-wired to react to movement when seen in our peripheral vision it drags the eye back into the centre, meaning we lose our place in the text.
Plus the backlit displays can put strain on the eyes.
I’m your age, and I prefer to do large quantities of reading on paper. This is particularly true with scientific articles, where I have to skip around frequently (text on page 6 refers to figure on page 7 and I’m trying to figure out the details of the methods on page 2 and then need to look up the reference on page 13). PDF readers make this clumsy unless you have a gigantic monitor capable of displaying whole pages at a reasonable resolution. I have, however, read whole novels on a computer. Again I prefer not to, but it’s less difficult because I can read more linearly and it’s not a problem to have less on the screen at once.
Eye strain is another issue. LCDs don’t have very high contrast, CRTs flicker. Most monitors are set to be much brighter than is really necessary, adding to the eye strain. Younger eyes are probably better able to tolerate eye strain.
And then there’s macular degeneration. Our young eyes can focus better on closer objects, and can change focus rapidly. Older eyes just can’t do it, at least not without reading glasses.
I don’t think it’s an age thing either. Given the choice between reading something on the computer and reading it printed out, I’ll take the printout. And I’m younger than the OP.
I notice this to a degree. I am an electrical engineer, and for the first 20 years I worked, I needed a bookcase full of data books. Around '95 you started getting data books on CD, then around 02/03 pretty much everything I need is on the web.
Most things I am fine with on a screen, but printing out a hard copy of a datasheet works about 100 times better for me. I get very stabby when I can’t print a datasheet. Part of it is that I will often need to refer to the information while working within another computer application, so it is a pain to flip between one window and another. It is also handy to be able to bookmark pages, highlite, add my own notes, etc. Also it is a pain to have to scroll down then back up to see what a footnote is about. Also, a lot of the text will refer to a figure on another page, and it is way easier to go back and forth using dead trees. Also, I frequently need the data while troubleshooting and it is either impossible or not handy to have a computer where the circuit is.
Some people are sort of information “hoarders” as well - I have a coworker who has massive life-endangering stacks of papers filling her cubicle, she says because “I can’t read on a screen” but really it’s more like “I have to keep EVERYTHING”. When we throw stuff out (not her stuff, other department stuff!) we have to wait until she’s not around and do it in secret. She’s not the only one like that I’ve met - they feel they don’t “own” something on a screen.
I think they can do it, but like anything you need time to adjust. I recall when my mum got bifocals, she was cussing saying she would never be able to use them. Then a month later all was fine, her eyes adapted.
Older people don’t use a screen so much so it hurts their eyes, if they forced the issue there eyes would adjust eventually.
It’s like and the darn touch pads on laptops. I HATE THEM. I know if I used them enough I’d eventually adapt, but I have no patience, it’s easier to pop in a USB mouse
I have read extensively on computers ever since my first time playing with pagestream on an amiga 20+ years ago.
The secret to comfortably reading anything on a screen is multifold.
1 - set the background color to a softer color than bright white, and have a good dark font in a reasonable size. Avoid fancy fonts. Back when I had a crt I had one of the anti glare polarized screen shields.
2 - make the reading area of the screen about 6 inches wide - about that of a hardback book single page. If my eye has to travel the entire 20+ inches of my desktop monitor, it is pure hell, though the 16 inches of my laptop monitor is not bad, I just prefer something the size of a hardback book page. Make the window background outside the reading area dark and neutral.
If you deal with the glare, and pagination, it becomes fairly comfortable to read.
I do all my recreation reading on the screen. I have to take off my glasses and push back away from the screen a bit. I find this easier than the up and down I need to get the screen, or a printed page, in the right place when I wear my trifocals.
I live across the street from a senior center and I know a lot of people who don’t like to read the screen. I just assumed it was either eyesight or stubbornness.
I get terrible, terrible eyestrain reading on a monitor. But I put up with it because, hey, what am I going to do? Stop reading stuff on the computer? Enlarging each page helps some. I seldom print anything out, as I have a notepad and pencil to write down such things I need to remember, and the notes are stuffed into my purse to join the thousand other hand-written notes… If it makes you feel better, my rheumy old failing eyeballs aren’t much better at reading actual printed material, I end up taking off my near-worthless glasses and just hold the book or magazine closer to my wrinkly haggard old face.
I don’t print much out, but if I had a long section to read, that is what I would prefer. My reading chair is more comfortable.
I have trouble retaining what I read because I take a lot of medication and because of many electrical shocks to my brain in the early 1960s, but I forget what is in print just as easily.
I have the beginning of cataracts in both eyes and I was born with about 50% of normal vision anyway. Cataracts at later stages can cause the reader to see a halo effect around lights. And I use a larger than normal text size on Kindle.
Now these are just my reasons. Older people are not all alike anymore than younger people. I met one amazing gentleman who is in his eighties who has never needed glasses. I’ve been wearing them since I was 14 months old.
I find it a bit baffling when people complain about the ergonomics of something preventing them from accomplishing something, when you can change your ergonomics.
Reading on a computer can be a bonus for failing eyesight … large monitor and huge font can help. My dad had macular degeneration, and preferred reading off a computer screen because he could blow documents up to huge to make it easier to work with. Brightness can be controlled with screen brightness, changing the background and font colors, and making stuff high or low contrast as your personal vision requires.
I have 2 monitors on my desktop - a 26 inch and a 28 inch, and I will frequently watch something on one monitor and make notes on the other one. My desk is very comfortable because I have it set up to be comfortable with the height of the desk, where i have my keyboard and monitors and I spent several hundred dollars on a very comfortable desk chair. With as much time as I normally spend at my desk [when i am not stuck in bed and using my laptop] it is worth the time effort and money to make it as ergonomically comfortable as possible. I just dont understand when people neglect to tweak their environment whenever possible [to the extend of their resources of course =) ]
I’m 40, and I don’t have any issue retaining what I’ve read on the screen. I work with computers, and 95% of what I need to read for work is read on a computer monitor. The remaining 5% comes from technical books.
That said, if I’m reading for fun (novels and such) I prefer books or my Kindle. If I’ve got to concentrate on small text for a sustained amount of time, the backlight on the computer screen causes eye fatigue, and it’s waaaay more comfortable to read while laying on the couch or in an easy chair than it is sitting at the computer. It also has to do with screen-reading versus concentrated-reading - stuff I read on the screen tend to be forum posts, multimedia things, or short pieces. Those work well on the screen. Something that I just read - paragraph after paragraph, for an hour or two - works better on paper/Kindle.
Eye fatigue has been a problem for me since my early 20s, so I don’t think it’s an age-related thing. I don’t recall ever printing something out, though, unless I have another reason for doing it, like I want to read it when there was no computer around, or I want a copy to have on my desk to refer to while I work on the computer. I still do that with screen shots - it’s nice to have a paper copy to refer to while I work on duplicating it on the screen.
I started in computers when I was twenty-seven. Even then I preferred printing off any documentation I needed to actually read & study. That hasn’t changed 20 odd years later.
Online help is fine for a quick look up. Check syntax etc.
I’ve never been able to concentrate and study reading stuff on the computer. I agree with other posters that comfort has a lot to do with it. You’re sitting with your neck twisted looking at a bright screen. One part of your brain is watching for new emails. You are wondering what people are on the Dope are talking about. etc… It’s so much easier to curl up on the sofa with a book or ring binder to study. That’s why I’ll never buy a Kindle. I just don’t like staring at a bright digital screen.
I second what someone upthread said about functionality. When I read stuff, I want to highlight passages quickly, make notes in the margin, and stick post-it notes on relevant pages that I can refer to later. I also want to go back and forth between pages quickly. There is no program for electronic documents that does that stuff at all well.
Similarly, my memory for documents allows me to go back and pick up a particular page more easily from a printed version than from an electronic version.
I guess it is all about the fact that printed documents have more of the relatively subtle visual cues that aid quick access than electronic docs. If I want to find a particular page, my memory will tell me “It’s in about the first 40 pages”, then I can go to pages about there and quickly flick through, picking up further cues from nearby pages, till I get the page I want. I can do this much faster with hard copies than with edocs. Just the way it is.