Barinov, D. N. Transformation of Reading Practices in Modern Russian Society

Abstract: The article is devoted to the problems of reading culture in modern Russia. The author of the article studies social and demographic, economic, technological aspects of modern reading practices. According to the author, the most important factor leading to the change in the form of reading is the development of information technologies and communication tools that allow to store and convey large volumes of information. This decreases the demand for traditional reading practices. Traditional reading is replaced with the search for information which complies with the modern educational strategies and standards of the information-based culture of the ‘knowledge society’. The analysis of peculiarities of transformation of reading practices in modern Russian society is based on the generalization of the results of Russian surveys as well as statistics. However, the author of the article proves that the modern society has all necessary bases to keep and develop traditional institutions and forms of reading culture. The author also notes that in terms of the development of new information technologies, we should be talking not about the ‘crisis’ of reading but about transformation of reading as a socio-cultural practice conditioned by the scale and pace of electronic communication development of modern Russian society.

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