Accessible and practical but more distracting: exploring the attitudes towards e-books among Swedish upper secondary school pupils

Purpose The purpose of this article is to explore Swedish teenagers' attitudes towards e-books and digital reading in both a school setting and beyond. Design/methodology/approach Using a sociocultural perspective, the study explores how attitudes toward digital reading are shaped by societal discourses, institutional practices and material conditions. The article builds on a survey study with 308 pupils in upper secondary schools from 13 different municipalities in Sweden. Findings The results show that the respondents appreciate the accessibility and practicality of e-books and perceive them to be a better choice for the environment but find that distraction and loss of attention is more common when reading in digital formats. The device used for digital reading influences the attitudes, with those having read on e-readers more likely to prefer e-books. 56% of the respondents are positive to e-books in a school setting and consider them helpful educational tools. Most respondents find that e-books are best suited for non-fiction reading and prefer to read fiction books in print. Practical implications The results can inform educators, librarians and policy makers on developing balanced approaches to digital literacy and resource provision in schools. Originality/value The findings of this study correspond with previous studies on young people's attitudes to e-books. The results highlight that it is not a question of exchanging printed formats for digital but rather showing how different formats can complement each other.