It seems as if another study on college students and
their use of digital devices is released every other day.
For instance, a new report from Wakefield Research found that 99% of current students own at least one
digital device and 68% use it at least three times a day. In fact, 47% of
responding students said they check their electronic device every 10 minutes, a
9% increase over 2011 survey results.
At 93%, laptops topped the list of devices owned by
students, but smartphone and tablet ownership saw significant increases.
Smartphone ownership rose from 47% in 2011 to 78% in the current survey, while
tablets went from 7% to 35%.
The study also showed 90% of students sometimes fail to
complete reading assignments, but 53% said they would be more likely to
complete the reading if it were available on mobile devices. Also, 59% of
responding students prefer bringing their laptop to class instead of a
textbook; 88% have used a mobile device for last-minute studying; and 79% of
respondents said they’ve used an e-textbook, compared to 63% in 2011.
Then there’s a study done at the City University of New
York (CUNY) that found students still say they prefer reading academic texts in
print. Student Reading Practices inPrint and Electronic Media tracked the reading habits of 17 students over the course of two weeks and
reported that most used electronic devices for pleasure reading, but switched
back to paper for academic content.
