Reading Motivation, Reading Literacy, and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents

The article discusses motivation for recreational reading in secondary school students as a subjective factor associated with reading amount and reading literacy, which develops as they gain reading experience. The study is based on the self-determination theory, which identifies autonomous motivation, reflecting one’s own interests and values; controlled motivation, based on external pressure or orientation toward other people’s expectations, and amotivation as a loss of meaning in an activity. The review provides a rationale that problematic Internet use in secondary school students is associated with a decrease in autonomous motivation, an increase in controlled motivation and amotivation, as well as a decrease in reading amount and reading literacy. To test this hypothesis, a correlation study was conducted on a sample of 446 Russian students in grades 5–9. Based on a similar English-language questionnaire, a methodology for assessing reading motivation in schoolchildren was developed for this study. The results of the correlation analysis confirmed the hypothesis of an inverse relationship between problematic Internet use and autonomous reading motivation and direct relationships with controlled motivation and amotivation. Autonomous motivation and amotivation showed predictable correlations with reading amount and reading literacy. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), it was found that problematic Internet use had a negative effect on both reading amount and reading literacy mediated through motivation. The results obtained are consistent with the idea that problematic Internet use undermines adolescents’ motivation for recreational reading and, through this, leads to a decrease in reading activity and reading literacy. At the same time, given the correlational design of the study, it can also be assumed that interest and passion for reading in adolescents may, in turn, serve as a protective factor in relation to problematic Internet use.