Printed text vs text on a screen

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I have a problem with retaining/processing information I read on a screen vs. anything that is printed. For example, I have to print out an eBook in order to make heads or tails of it. I'm pretty sure this is just an aspect of sensory processing disorder. I'm just wondering just how common this is.

You are not alone. Studies are proving this to be true everywhere and for virtually all readers.

Readers Absorb Less on E Readers

I certainly have the same problem. Reading from a screen does not have the same power to evoke visual imagination and for some reason makes it difficult to retain the information covered, or even to maintain focus on the page. I tend to skim electronic material, rather than absorb it.

I've got nearly 200 books on my tablet, but I find Angry Birds more compelling. I'd rather read from a paper book.

I changed the background colour of my computer screen to a light gray a while back and it helped me quite a bit. I find black letters on gray on a monitor much easier to read than black on white.

I find letters on a high contrast background tend to "dance" which leads me to believe I have Irlen Syndrome, a common comorbid with autism. Traffic signs are the worst for this for me.

I don't know about retaining and processing; I think I do ok with those but I still prefer reading physical materials to reading from a screen. My problems with screen text are concentration and eye fatigue. I suspect that the pixelation of screen-based text causes a subtle blurriness, and my brain has to work harder to bring the words into focus. Like a previous poster, I've change the default webpage color scheme. It's now significantly more comfortable to read things online. All of my webpages usually look like this (although I also have black text on grey background as an alternative theme):

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I work a lot on the computer and in some programs I use alternative colour schemes (for example blue on the background).

For reading I prefer real books. But there are differences in reading from e-readers and tablets. I bought an expensive e-reader with good e-ink and that really helps. I did not like my first e-reader or reading from a tablet, but this one is better and I can read it for hours.