ABOUT
The project was initiated by questioning how digital technologies shape human perception. Marshall McLuhan (2005) argues that media, as an extension of human faculty, alters our senses and consequently transforms our perceptions and behaviours. The sustained use of digital devices has resulted in changes in how humans read and perceive information. Immediate and abundant data through websites and social media platforms have transformed human reading habits, prompting individuals to selectively accept seemingly important information and skip the rest to obtain target information quickly. Consequently, skimming and scanning have become a dominant method of information consumption. However, Maryanne Wolf (2018) warns that these skim reading habits may endanger ‘deep reading’, which is a reading approach that facilitates reasoning, critical analysis, and empathy.
In this regard, ‘Ways of Reading: Interrupting Skimming Information’ examined how design can deal with skim reading and contribute to fostering ‘deep reading’ in the digital environment that typically encourage skimming.
Recent studies suggest that the conventional reading approach of consuming content slowly and sequentially enhances comprehension and critical thinking. In line with this idea, the series of web experiments translates the traditional mode of sequential reading into a web environment by preventing users from skimming content and providing a slower, linear process of reading. Common digital behaviours such as hovering, dragging, and clicking, known as obstacles to the reading process, can actually help provide ‘deep reading’ experiences to an audience. By engaging in these web experiments, digital readers are compelled to read text sequentially, prompting them to memorise sentences and consider contextual connections. This approach encourages readers to reflect on the value of slow reading, ultimately engaging in ‘deep reading’ practices.
In this regard, ‘Ways of Reading: Interrupting Skimming Information’ examined how design can deal with skim reading and contribute to fostering ‘deep reading’ in the digital environment that typically encourage skimming.
Recent studies suggest that the conventional reading approach of consuming content slowly and sequentially enhances comprehension and critical thinking. In line with this idea, the series of web experiments translates the traditional mode of sequential reading into a web environment by preventing users from skimming content and providing a slower, linear process of reading. Common digital behaviours such as hovering, dragging, and clicking, known as obstacles to the reading process, can actually help provide ‘deep reading’ experiences to an audience. By engaging in these web experiments, digital readers are compelled to read text sequentially, prompting them to memorise sentences and consider contextual connections. This approach encourages readers to reflect on the value of slow reading, ultimately engaging in ‘deep reading’ practices.