Background. In modern conditions of digitalization of education and the spread of the digital format of reading, it becomes especially relevant to refer to the scientific heritage of Academician of the Russian Academy of Education G.G. Granik, in particular, to her concept of text comprehension. 

Objective. To analyze and summarize the results of the fundamental and practice-oriented research on the problem of text comprehension, carried out by G.G. Granik and her colleagues during forty years (1980–2020); to present a new empirical study of adolescents’ comprehension of text in the process of reading from paper and from screens. 

Methods. Methods include theoretical analysis and generalization of research results on the problem of text comprehension, carried out in the scientific school of G.G. Granik. 

In order to conduct the empirical study, the authors’ diagnostic toolkit was used, aimed at identifying the level of understanding of factual and conceptual textual information. 

Sample. The total sample consisted of 173 students in grades 7–8 of the secondary schools in the Moscow region. 

Results. It was found that students who read from paper demonstrate better diagnostic results than those who read from screen, however, the differences are statistically insignificant (p > 0.05). This may indicate that modern adolescents are rather quickly becoming better adapted to the digital format and the differences in reading from paper and from screen are gradually being erased. However, the level of understanding of a long and complex text remains quite low: almost half (49.7%) of the students were unable to formulate the main idea of the text, only 30.6% coped well with this task. 

Conclusion. Conceptual ideas about text comprehension, generated in the scientific school of G.G. Granik in relation to traditional paper reading have an undoubted development potential and can be used as the basis for research on digital reading.

Abstract

Background. The dynamic development of information technologies changes not only the reading practices of adolescents, but also their mental representations of text in the digital environment, including perceptions of the text purpose and functions, as well as information processing strategies. Psychological research into these representations, particularly the understanding of hypertext as a foundational component of the Internet space, is essential for the development of digital literacy in adolescents.

Objectives. This study aims to identify and analyze the views of 7th and 8th grade students regarding screen reading and the specific characteristics of their hypertext perception.

Study Participants. 1,845 schoolchildren educating in the 7th and 8th grade in various Russian regions (57.6% girls). Respondents were aged 13–15 years (M = 14.0; SD = 0.74).

Methods. The study used a survey design employing the authors' original online questionnaire "Screen Reading: Hypertext". Data analysis was performed by means of descriptive statistics, the Mann — Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi-square test. Effect sizes were estimated using rank-biserial correlation and Cramer's V.

Results. A comparison of data from 2020 and 2025 indicates that the mixed nature of reading practices among 7th and 8th graders persists, with a smooth trend toward a gradual decline in the dominance of the print format (p < 0.001). A discrepancy is revealed between the high digital activity and low theoretical awareness of the students: according to the 2025 survey results, 93.1% of respondents spend at least one hour a day online (including 57.3% who are online from 3 to 6 or more hours daily), yet only 41.9% of them demonstrate an intermediate-to-advanced grasp of the "hypertext" concept. The majority are either unfamiliar with the term or use it without comprehension, despite evaluating their Internet skills as confident.

Conclusions. The findings confirm the necessity of developing adolescents' digital literacy, with a focus on fostering the metacognitive skills crucial for working with hypertext. Psychologically oriented interventions (teaching navigation strategies and comprehension of non-linear texts) can increase awareness when using electronic resources and reduce the risks of superficial information processing in the digital environment.