Over the last few decades, research studies have shown that our brains do better when we read on paper than when we read digitally. That’s true whether we’re talking about students in a classroom or shoppers in a store aisle. Our brains process information more deeply and accurately when we see the material in print. A new study sheds some light on why that’s true.
The study was performed at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, and it used eye tracking with 50 undergraduate students to investigate the differences in how people read and absorb information in print versus digital media.
Specifically, lead author Yu-Cin Jian wanted to understand the differences in comprehension when readers have to process information that requires a heavier cognitive load than just words, such as when representational or explanatory diagrams accompany the text. She randomly assigned the participants to read the same six-page article from Popular Science (complete with complex diagrams) either in print or on a tablet. Once they were finished, she asked them to answer comprehension questions about what they had read.
The Results
The results were interesting, though not all that surprising. Both groups spent about the same amount of time reading, but comprehension was better in the group reading in print. What differed was how the participants addressed the material.
With eye tracking, participants look at a visual stimulus while a device using infrared light and cameras measures their eye movements. For this study, the data indicated that, while both the print and digital groups spent about the same amount of time reading the content, the time wasn’t evenly divided in how they accomplished it.
The digital group spent more time initially reading the article (known as “first pass reading”), but the individuals rarely went back to re-read any portion of it. By contrast, those in the print group first skimmed the article, then went back to re-read the parts they felt were important. It’s possible that other factors noted in different studies, such as spatial/haptic cues (i.e., location on the page and small imperfections on paper) also helped with information recall.
Based on this new research, we can also extrapolate why graphics, pull-outs, and bullet points are so effective. Not only are they easier for our brains to process than text, because we identify these sections as distinct from the main text, it’s more likely that readers will re-read them, as well, and gain more information from them.
The bottom line, according to this study, is if you have information that needs greater processing to be understood and analyzed, put it in print, and understand that any graphic elements provide a multiplied value when delivered in this format.
Source:
Tolliver-Walker, Heidi. (September 24, 2025). “Brains Prefer Print, But Why? Now We Know (Maybe).” What They Think. Retrieved from
https://whattheythink.com/articles/127738-brains-prefer-print-why-now-we-know-maybe.
