Leiden University Student Repository

Alkemade, Willemijn (2025)

Lezen in het tijdperk van notificaties: Een onderzoek naar de effecten van social media-interrupties op leesprocessen

Master thesis | Education and Child Studies (MSc)

This study investigates the effect of social media interruptions on reading processes, specifically coherence monitoring during the reading of short stories. The primary research question asks if social media interruptions affect readers ability to detect inconsistencies in texts and whether frequent social media users are less affected than infrequent users. This research is important because of the growing use of digital devices in classrooms and education, emphasizing the importance of understanding their impact on learning processes. The study employed an experimental design using the contradiction paradigm. Participants (N = 21) read short stories under different conditions: consistent and inconsistent stories, and with and without interruptions that mimicked social media notifications. The reading time of each sentence was recorded and the study also gathered information about participants’ social media habits using a survey. The results showed a significant effect on...Show moreThis study investigates the effect of social media interruptions on reading processes, specifically coherence monitoring during the reading of short stories. The primary research question asks if social media interruptions affect readers ability to detect inconsistencies in texts and whether frequent social media users are less affected than infrequent users. This research is important because of the growing use of digital devices in classrooms and education, emphasizing the importance of understanding their impact on learning processes. The study employed an experimental design using the contradiction paradigm. Participants (N = 21) read short stories under different conditions: consistent and inconsistent stories, and with and without interruptions that mimicked social media notifications. The reading time of each sentence was recorded and the study also gathered information about participants’ social media habits using a survey. The results showed a significant effect on consistency, with significantly longer reading times for inconsistent sentences compared to consistent ones, this means participants noticed the inconsistency in the text. However, no significant effect of social media interruptions on this coherence monitoring was found. There was also no difference between frequent and infrequent social media users in how interruptions affected them. The conclusion is that social media interruptions might not disrupt reading as much as expected, possibly because the interruptions in this study were brief and infrequent. More research with a larger sample is needed to confirm these findings and explore their implications. The study highlights the importance of managing digital distractions in learning environments and suggests strategies such as ensuring a quiet setting and using focus modes to help minimize interruptions.Show less

Author

Alkemade, Willemijn

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Orthopedagogiek

Supervisors

Helder, A.
Hickendorff, M.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

nl