Books vs. Screens

The current educational debate is no longer about choosing between a blackboard or a projector, but about deciding whether students should learn with a book in their hands or with their eyes fixed on a screen.

Sweden’s decision to scale back its investment in digitalization and allocate 685 million kronor (about 60 million euros) to distribute physical textbooks to each student has reignited a discussion that transcends borders: are we raising a generation incapable of concentrating?

The Nordic country, one of the most technologically advanced in Europe, has made a 180-degree turn. Its official motto, «från skärm till pärm» («from screen to binder»), summarizes a strategy that seeks to recover the pencil, paper, and deep reading as pillars of learning.

The Minister of Schools, Lotta Edholm, was blunt: «We have a reading crisis in Swedish schools. We risk seeing a generation of functional illiterates.»

The measure came after verifying a decline in the international PIRLS reading comprehension tests, which experts directly associate with the intensive use of screens in the classroom.

Scientific evidence supports this concern. Prolonged use of electronic devices fragments attention, generates overstimulation and cognitive fatigue, and hinders the sustained concentration that reading demands.

Reading in digital environments, especially when linked to social media and multitasking, impoverishes comprehension. It is no coincidence that at least 79 educational systems worldwide have already adopted some type of cell phone restriction in schools, according to UNESCO.

Sweden is not alone on this path. Countries like the Netherlands banned smartphones in classrooms to reduce distractions; two years later, teachers say the atmosphere is more relaxed, concentration has improved, and academic performance is beginning to reflect it.

France has had a total ban in primary and secondary schools since 2018, while Finland, Norway, Italy, and the United Kingdom have joined the trend of restricting screens and recovering printed books as the main tool.

Far from rejecting technology, these countries seek a balance: using it when it provides pedagogical value and returning the book to its central place in education.

The physical book offers advantages that the screen cannot replicate: it allows for a more leisurely interaction, better mental organization of content, less distraction, and a stable reading experience that favors memory and comprehension.

However, specialists warn that the problem is not the medium but the didactic use. Both a book and a tablet can enhance learning or become a source of distraction, depending on the activity proposed by the teacher.

The key is not to choose between past and future, but to design a coherent educational model that integrates the best of both worlds.

What seems indisputable is that deep reading — which requires time, silence, and concentration — cannot be taken for granted in the age of digital immediacy. Recovering the habit of reading is not a nostalgic act but an urgent pedagogical necessity.

Students need to consolidate basic comprehension and critical thinking skills before navigating the ocean of information screens offer.

Reading does not compete with technology; it complements it. But for that to happen, the book must return to the place it should never have lost: the center of the classroom.