I've Got All My Readers With Me: A Model of Reading as a Social Activity

Reading is not simply a solitary activity. It occurs in a social context, which influences both a reader's choices about what to read, and their understanding about what they read. Digitally, direct personal communication and online discussions are two examples of social reading activity. However, our understanding of social reading is still young: we know some elements of the activity, but we lack a comprehensive picture of its behavioural elements and how they interact. This study aims to bridge that existing gap. We undertook a diary study, supplemented with interviews to capture readers' social reading behaviours. Based on a qualitative analysis of that data, we propose a social reading journey model, that includes four activities: Inspiration and Motivation, Reading, Understanding and Enrich, and Social Interaction. We identify the flow of information interaction behaviour across the social reading journey, and the sources of online information that influence readers' reading choices and inform their understanding of what they read. Our findings provide a first model of social reading behaviour, that is a foundation for future research.