The Affordances of Reading/Writing on Paper and Digitally in Finland

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of digital technologies on reading and writing in Finland. The perceived affordances of reading and writing on paper and digitally are compared by analysing written essays collected from 25 communication students in 2013. Research design is replicated from a study of Fortunati and Vincent that concerns Italian students. Results show that Finnish students perceive more positive than negative affordances regarding reading on paper, while reading on screen attracts fewer virtues. In this respect, results are in line with the Italian study. Unlike in Italy, students in Finland value writing on a keyboard especially because it enables editing the text quickly and efficiently and thus increases textual productivity. The study shows that Finnish students take some affordances of digital writing for granted and do not recognise their non-digital alternatives. This implies that they are perhaps more embedded in the digital world than Italian students. The Technological Frames approach is utilised to expound these country differences.