Impact of Skim Reading Based on Different Screen Sizes

Abstract

Digital technologies have identified themselves in several application domains. This has resulted in massive data availability over the internet. These web contents are generally too long to read. The reader, therefore, skims over the matter because of the limited time available while focusing on understanding the concept of the subject. A hypothesis suggests that full-screen skimming provides a better understanding of ideas as compared to mobile screen skimming. The small size of a mobile device screen is facilitated by a scrolling feature to cover the entire text. In contrast, a full screen provides a larger chunk of text on the screen. In this paper, a software prototype has been developed which sums the contents of the screen in short precis both for computer and mobile screen readers. Experiments have been conducted to analyze the memory of the readers in understanding the meaning of the given text on different screen sizes. The text used in the reading activity experiments has been classified as 1) important, 2) unimportant, and 3) inference sentences. In this study, a total of 50 participants performed a reading activity for a specific time, followed by an evaluation of the text in the form of true or false sentences. The memory of the participants was thereafter analyzed. It was observed that the skimming approach showed better memory about topics and ideas on a computer screen compared to the mobile screen. Thus, the findings of the study were validated in support of the skimming process known as satisficing.