For some reason (ah, the mystery of Google) the most visited page on my website is this thought: Do you fall asleep reading on the computer?

The difference in the user experience [between reading a book and a computer] has a decidedly different impact. The rhythmic motion of your eyes scanning back and forth across the page is known to induce a bit of sleepiness.

Do our eyes treat reading on the computer screen differently? Is it the backlit glowing screen of the computer monitor? Does the abundance of alternatives for our attention on the computer “page” distract us? Does this interrupt the normal rhythmic motion of reading? Many people cite reading on the computer as an uncomfortable experience - is there fundamental reason behind the discomfort that drives the inability to truly relax to the point of sleep while reading on the computer?

Interestingly enough, it might be time to revisit the dynamic: how does this change when the book is a computer? The Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader, devices with backlit screens that display pages of books [1] in much of the same way that traditional books. While the dimensions may be the similar, the user interface is very different, and could create very different ways to read:

• Do we read on a Kindle or Reader more like we read websites or printed media (e.g. books, magazines)?
• Does the digital user interface induce us to skim? [2]
• Is there a difference in flipping the page physically vs. flipping it digitally?
• Do we change our positions (e.g. hand, head, book and eye placement) the same way with electronic book readers the same way we do with physical books or magazines?

Do we read ebooks the same way we read books?

Nick Carr is not alone; years of reading on the web has had an impact on how I read. [3] I am more likely to skim, more likely to wander to other thoughts, less likely to be completely absorbed and “present” in my reading, less able to consume long form media. [4]

And I wonder: would I fall asleep reading an electronic book reader similar to how I fall asleep reading a book? Or would I be more likely to stay awake reading an ebook, entranced by the backlit glow of the computer screen?

Would reading books using ebook readers result in me recapturing a bit of my ability to consume long-form content, if for no other reason than I would be less likely to fall asleep while reading?

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[1] Does “page” or “book” still apply in the same way when we remove the physical dimension?
[2] Slight tangent: do we listen to music on the web the same way we listen to music from other mediums? Do we demonstrate the same absorption or patience? Do we listen to songs in their entirety? Do we skip to the next song more frequently?
[3] The bigger question asked, of course, is if and how the way information is presented and stored on the web changes the way we think.
[4] Friends of mine might argue this point, that I’ve never been able to consume long form media. In college I was famous for falling asleep reading books, due to my dominant method of reading while laying down on my bed, head on my pillow. Friends often said it was difficult to determine if I was reading or asleep. In retrospect, I was usually asleep.