Reading Habits and Technological Affinity of University Students: A Comparative Study of Five Spanish-speaking Universities

Abstract

A study was conducted with group of students from five both national and foreign higher education institutions, three of them Mexican (Sonora University, Veracruz University and Sonora State University), one Spanish (Madrid Complutense University) and finally, one Argentinian (Jujuy National University). A total of 261 students from two different fields, humanities and economy and administration, participated in the mentioned study. The data collection was carried out between February and May on the year 2016 and the tool used was a survey called “The informational literacy for the academic improvement of university students”. Matters of access and use of the digital tools were searched in the survey. Practices, uses and customs around reading, with the purpose of establishing a possible relationship between university students’ technologic affinity and their reading habits, were considered in the research. We also looked to know which are the supports and preferred means to read and to know if aspects such as the geographical location, sex or discipline of the student influences this preference. According to the revised results, it was not possible to establish a direct and positive relationship between ICT management skills and the reading habits of university students, regardless of academic discipline, country or gender. However, it was observed that even when students do not have an optimal level of skills they tend to read more in digital media.