Influence of the use of ICTs on the development of reading comprehension in Primary Education

Abstract

In a context of increasing use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) during childhood, recent research has opened a discussion regarding the potential harmful impact of unmediated overexposure to these tools on the development of reading competence. Given this situation and considering the relevance of the family as a literacy context, a quantitative ex post facto research was conducted with students from the second and third cycles of Primary Education (N= 410). The aim was to explore the level of parental mediation in the use of ICTs by students and analyse the potential link of this variable with their reading comprehension level. The results reveal a predominant use of ICT for recreational purposes and deficiencies in parental mediation, with a higher number of risky situations as the age increases. Additionally, an association is found between the level of parental mediation in the use of ICTs and the level of reading comprehension among sixth-grade students, mainly in inferential and critical levels, thus confirming the potential negative impact of abusive and unmediated use of ICTs on this competence.