The impact of mobile reading devices on the reading habits of a group of adolescent learners in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The pace of technological advancement and growth in the twenty-first century continues to soar at unprecedented levels and beyond human imagination. As the fourth industrial revolution unfolds, it has become increasingly difficult to predict the direction technological innovation will take in the not too distant future. Digital technologies have become an integral part of every aspect of human existence (work, play, schooling and personal relationships). The purpose of this study was to explore the various ways mobile technological gadgets like cell phones, tablets and laptops could be leveraged to promote a culture of leisure reading amongst a group of Zimbabwean adolescent learners. Data was collected using the literacy practices interview, mobile reading diaries, focus group interviews and the researcher’s personal field notes. Theoretically, the study was guided primarily by Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological systems theory. Also, the study was supported by Guthrie and Wigfield's reader engagement model and Turner and Hicks' connected reader model. The empirical data collected through the data collection instruments were analysed inductively. The findings revealed that adolescent learners are a digital generation whose reading needs are ever growing and expectations are ever changing. The adolescent participants expect their reading to be like the rest of their digital lives, which is quick, uninterrupted, personalised and smart. It was found that the adolescent participants like to read on their terms, as they dislike being told when to read or what to read. Three reader identities were revealed namely; the eager reader, the ‘fifty fifty’ reader and the non-reader. The adolescent participants who were not already mobile readers readily accepted and adopted mobile reading as it afforded them vast reading opportunities. Besides, the findings of the study revealed that participants encountered many challenges, which in some instances militated against their mobile reading endeavours. These challenges were because of mobile phone use restrictions in schools, prohibitive data costs, a strong emphasis on academic reading as opposed to leisure reading and internet connectivity problems amongst other issues. In this study, the recommendations and guidelines outlined provide a framework with which schools, parents, mobile reading application developers and policymakers can adopt to support a robust mobile reading culture amongst Zimbabwean adolescent learners. The researcher concluded that mobile reading devices are a novel, noble and credible means through which they can foster positive leisure literacy practices amongst Zimbabwean adolescents.