Onderzoeksartikel

De invloed van televisiekijken op het lezen van de jeugd

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Abstract

There is a general concern that children due to the expanding television culture gradually turn their backs on the printed media. As a result of their television viewing, children are assumed to read less, and less proficiently, and to develop a preference for qualitatively inferior reading material. In this review article these assumptions are evaluated by analyzing international and Dutch research. Research does not indicate today’s children’s reading skills to be inferior to those of earlier generations. Dutch adolescents’ time spent on reading, however, has decreased considerably during the past decennium. The present research evidence does not decidedly show television to be the cause of this decrease, but it does not exclude the possibility either. There is hardly any research on the question if television causes children to develop a preference for easily accessible reading material, such as comics and picture-dominated books. Research does suggest, however, that Dutch adolescents increasingly read books demanding little effort and time. American research indicates that heavy television viewing can slow down the growth of reading skills, especially in groups of children that generally read a lot (girls, high-IQ, and high-SES children). This research finding does not necessarily apply to Dutch children. Since on Dutch television foreign TV programmes are not dubbed, children can practice reading skills by reading subtitles daily.

How to Cite:

Beentjes, H. & Van Der Voort, T., (1987) “De invloed van televisiekijken op het lezen van de jeugd”, Massacommunicatie : Wetenschappelijk Kwartaaltijdschrift voor Communicatie en Informatie 15(2), 107–134.