Increased screen time reduces children's interest in reading

Icelandic children's interest in reading has declined since the turn of the century. In 2000, 33% of 10th graders said they only read when needed. Today the percentage is 60% and even more.

Students who spend more time on smartphones during school hours are less interested in reading than those who use smartphones little or not at all. The interest in reading is waning faster and faster as students spend more time on the devices.

Article on Iceland Monitor

Concerning PISA survey showing Icelandic students lagging behind

This is shown by the results of research by Kristján Ketill Stefánsson, assistant professor of pedagogy at the University of Iceland's Faculty of Education. The study is based on data from more than fifteen thousand students in grades 6 to 10 in 120 elementary schools nationwide.

According to Stefánsson, the study does not prove a causal relationship between screen time and being interested in reading. Nevertheless, everything seems to indicate that more screen time reduces children's interest in reading. He points to research by foreign scholars who have demonstrated the connection between phone use and mental distress.

About 81% of students in grades 6 to 10 have a smartphone at school, whether it is kept in a pocket or bag. The percentage of students with a phone is higher in the older classes than in the younger ones. Thus, about 91% of students in the 9th and 10th grades have a smartphone at school, 86% of the 8th graders, 70% of the 7th graders, and 64% of the 6th graders.

Smartphone use among students varies and increases depending on age. Also, girls generally spend more time on the phone during school hours than boys. The difference between the sexes in the top three classes is on average about 20 minutes.

Phone use increases greatly after 7th grade

The majority of children in the 6th and 7th grades do not spend any time on smartphones during school hours or between 73-87%. In the 8th to 10th grade, on the other hand, that percentage drops to 20-29%. The screen time of the majority of children in the top three grades is an hour or more per day during school hours. There are also examples of children spending three hours a day on the phone during school hours. The percentage of those students is highest in the 10th grade, or about 5%.

"I didn't expect the use of the phone to be so extensive," Stefánsson says about the results and draws attention to the fact that about 44% of students in the 10th grade use the phone for an hour and a half or more during school hours.

A large proportion of Icelandic children do not reach the set standards in reading skills, as Morgunblaðið has previously reported. In all elementary school years, fewer students reached the basic standard this spring than last year.

"Foreign studies have pointed out that along with the greatly increased use of smartphones by young people, their well-being has worsened and their interest in reading has decreased. These are processes that are happening simultaneously."