Materials

In studies of screen text perception, insufficient attention is paid to the perceptual component of reading. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between the perceptual and semantic components of the perception of paired combinations of words in the Russian language during “digital reading” (reading from the screen). Paired combinations of words and pseudo-words (words with similar or sharply different spelling of a single letter) were presented on the screen with exposures of 0.3 seconds, 0.9 seconds and 1.45 seconds. The sample consisted of 15 people aged 19 to 35 years. Limiting the time of reading words on the screen and/or distorting the letter composition of the word led to a discrepancy between the perceptual and semantic components of the perception of the text on the screen. As a result, reading words became based on fragmentary distinction of their letter composition ("word superiority effect"), which increased the speed of reading. However, this way of reading can lead to spelling illiteracy of the reader. In addition, the fragmentary perception of text, characteristic of “digital reading”, is one of the reasons for the formation of clip thinking. Limiting the duration of the perceptual-semantic act by reducing the time of presentation of the text on the screen, or by scrolling or skimming the text can provoke spelling illiteracy and/or clip semantic perception of what is read. It can also be assumed that the transition from analog to digital perception of text can lead to a kind of continuum of cognitive consequences, at one pole of which is semantic dyslexia, and at the other – clip thinking.