The role of media multitasking tendency in medium effect on reading comprehension of university students

Abstract Although there seemed to be an optimistic consensus about the use of Information and Communication Technologies to support teaching and learning, the negative effects of introducing technology into the classroom have become apparent in recent years. Evidence suggests that instead of using technological devices for the purpose for which they were introduced into the classroom, students are distracted by simultaneous multimedia activities. This is known as the multimedia multitasking tendency. This is not the only negative consequence of digital media in education. In line with this phenomenon, some authors have found that reading comprehension is lower when reading digitally (on screen) than when reading analogue (on paper). The aim of the present study is to investigate whether Multimedia Multitasking Tendency in the educational context plays a relevant role in the effect of the reading medium (analogue or digital) on reading comprehension. To this end, the responses of 97 participants in whom Multimedia Multitasking Tendency was measured, as well as their reading comprehension, were analyzed. Half of them took the reading comprehension test in an analogue medium (i.e. on paper; n = 50), while the other half took it in a digital medium (i.e. on a computer or mobile phone; n = 47). The results suggest that reading comprehension accuracy is lower in a digital medium than in an analogue medium. The results of this study also suggest that Multimedia Multitasking Tendency may play a substantial role in the effect of the reading medium on reading comprehension.