The “School Readiness” study conducted by Kindred Squared in the UK in 2024 revealed that the relationship digital natives have with physical books has weakened. According to the research, one in three children does not know how to correctly use a book when they start school. Teachers report that children try to “swipe” pages as they would on tablet screens, instead of turning them.
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan from the Child Development Department of the Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences warned families about the cognitive and emotional risks of children starting school without being introduced to books, within the scope of April 2 World Children's Book Day.
Changes in the reading habits of the “tablet generation” are striking
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan, pointing out that academic research and studies signal cognitive and neurological transformations, said, “The way the mind, memory, and nervous system are used has begun to change. Changes in the attention spans and reading habits of the generation called the ‘tablet generation’ or ‘digital natives’ are noteworthy. Especially fast-paced digital games and platforms like Youtube Kids and TikTok, on one hand, shorten children's attention spans and deep focus skills, and on the other hand, activate the reward mechanism with continuous and instantaneous dopamine release. Digital applications are designed to keep the child's attention for not even a minute or a second, and everything is presented ready-made. Spending time with a book, however, requires patience and mental activity because a child listening to/reading a book builds a world in their mind; their faculties of analysis, synthesis, comprehension, and interpretation are constantly active. This can feel quite exhausting compared to the digital activities that induce laziness.”
It has become more difficult to instill a reading habit
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan noted that there are multiple factors making it difficult to instill a reading habit in this era, saying, “To read a book, one needs to sit down, explore interests and needs to choose the appropriate book, set aside time to discover the individual's interests and potential, use fine motor skills to turn book pages, listen and/or comprehend what is read to get into the story, and use cognitive effort and focus skills to understand what is read. These actions can seem static, monotonous, and extremely slow to digital natives. For children and young people accustomed to clicking and superficial scanning with tablet use (and unfortunately for adults too), it becomes difficult to grasp the emotional depth of the text and to notice explicit and implicit messages. The act of reading a book is a skill of forming both concrete and abstract connections, and this habit requires the active use of all developmental areas.”
Digital screens are used like 'pacifiers'
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan emphasized that significant responsibilities fall on families, stating, “Children should see adults around them reading physical books, having a reading habit, and allocating money and time to books. Children should be able to observe and experience that reading is a good thing. Especially, no type of screen should act as a ‘digital nanny/babysitter’ in a child's life. In other words, during moments that are challenging for parents—while eating, traveling, on public transport, shopping, etc.—no type of screen should become a 'snake they cling to when they fall into the sea.' The use of screens as a pacifier in challenging moments leads to the loss of children's abilities to cope with boredom, to retreat into their inner world when necessary, to imagine, create, dream, and cope.”
A child reading with an adult is important
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan emphasized the importance of developing joint attention skills in children before they start school, saying, “Simple actions such as a child reading, looking at, examining a book with an adult, turning pages, and talking about pictures will protect the brain and nervous system from attention fragmented by digital use. This will also keep the child's curiosity alive, strengthen their ability to connect, communicate, build relationships and dialogue, and develop empathy skills. Starting with bath books and toy books, introducing the child to books and finding a place for books in their life are important behaviors that will gradually build this habit. Giving books as gifts on important days, creating the perception that a book is a valuable object to be gifted to a loved one, without, of course, making it tiresome... Additionally, strengthening this bond through interactive reading activities... Before introducing books, gradually introducing the child to the world of literature, art, and reading through elements of oral culture. How? Oral cultural elements such as lullabies, riddles, couplets, rhymes, and fairy tales actually form the initial stages of the path to a reading habit.”
Technology should not be banned, but balanced
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan stated that it is not possible to completely remove technology from life and continued:
“Completely restricting technology is not possible because while we are digital immigrants, new generations are born into this phenomenon, meaning they are digital natives. They are born with digital usage skills coded into their nervous systems, and you've probably come across many cartoons, videos, and content related to this. Correct usage is important. What many experts insistently underline and emphasize at every opportunity around the world is to keep children away from screens for the first three years, especially for brain and nervous system development, and to equip them with human habits. This is not too difficult when children are trying to understand their environment like investigative journalists in 5W1H mode, because they are born into this world with a natural curiosity to explore nature and their surroundings. Play is an important language in discovering this world. Just like play, elements of oral culture attract children's interest, nurture them positively, and support their development. A child who is introduced to lullabies and rhymes in infancy, and riddles, fairy tales, and stories are included in their life around the age of three, can actually be considered to have already stepped into the world of books. When they realize that some of what they hear is read from books, they grow up with a system that can establish balance, becoming a child who is eager to have books read to them and later curious to read themselves. This balance is solidified in the child's eyes and life when they experience that digital is a tool to be used when needed, and that TV and other screen types are not enthroned in the most prominent place in the house.”
Wrong book choice can distance a child from books
Instructor Elif Konar Özkan addressed the importance of choosing books appropriate for age and developmental characteristics, stating, “While not the sole factor, book selection according to age groups certainly influences the desire to read positively and/or negatively. When we talk about child-centeredness, knowing the child is the key word. Because if the child is known, and their interests, needs, desires, and curiosities are understood, suitable books can be chosen for them. Many different books, from lap-sized books to palm-sized books; from comic books to picture books, from poetry to fairy tales, from biography to story, or even books without text and pictures, can be tried according to developmental characteristics. So, both formal and content features are important in book selection. When choosing for a child, it is fundamental to remember that the child is a curious individual who, just like adults, dislikes being taught and prefers to learn with joy and by forming connections. Children introduced to quality and age-appropriate books can, of course, acquire reading habits more easily.”
The task of schools is to make children love books
Instructor Özkan also touched upon the role of schools, saying, “Children coming to school unprepared in terms of basic habits necessitates that the school transforms into a structure that not only conveys and teaches information but also rebuilds basic habits. Just like ‘values education.’ In other words, while values, morals, and ‘being human’ are fundamentally acquired/should be acquired within the family, the necessities of the modern capitalist system have made it a task assigned to schools and the education system, first with the values education directive and then with the virtue-value action model. Unfortunately, while the habit of reading books was fundamentally acquired by children observing good examples in their families and environment, now establishing and strengthening this culture is accepted as a task loaded onto schools and the education system. Of course, having libraries and book collections in schools, and books being visible and usable, is important. Since we are constantly digitalizing in education as well, books can sometimes take a backseat in those environments. Teachers prioritizing books, giving them a place in their lives, and being good role models as reading individuals are among the primary duties.”
The world of books should be introduced to children
Özkan stated that for a reading culture, exams about books should not be given; instead, positive connections to books should be established in the child's cognitive and emotional world. “Various activities where the child spends more time with books; moments where the child puts themselves in the place of the author or illustrator and experiences this state, bookstore and fair visits, meeting and having conversations/experience opportunities with authors and illustrators, listening to fairy tales in libraries, etc. Spending time with various activities, meaning the priority should be to love books and reading. When they know and love books and the world of books, the habit of reading will also strengthen.” she concluded.
