NOT YET PUBLISHED

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Paperback Hardback eBook
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Published 15-09-2026
ISBN 9780522882315
Pages 208
Subjects Advice on parenting Child care & upbringing Cultural and media studies
Imprint MUP

Between Reading and Screens

Navigating changes in children’s digital lives

Sybil Nolan, Wonsun Shin, Katherine Day, and Xin Pei

NOT YET PUBLISHED

Formats

Paperback Hardback eBook
Share
Published 15-09-2026
ISBN 9780522882315
Pages 208
Subjects Advice on parenting Child care & upbringing Cultural and media studies
Imprint MUP

New research on digital media and the effects on young people's lives and literacy

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, Australian children's screen use surged - and with it came urgent questions about what this meant for reading, learning and family life. Drawing on national surveys and interviews with families and librarians, Between Reading and Screens uncovers how deeply digital devices have reshaped contemporary childhood.

Children are now more likely to own a tablet than a shelf of print books. Yet the story is far more complex than the familiar 'screens versus books' debate. Lockdowns, remote learning and other pandemic restrictions not only intensified children's media use - they also transformed many parents' attitudes. For some, closer involvement in children's digital lives fostered understanding rather than fear. For others, particularly those with limited support or resources, the challenges were profound.

This richly researched study situates children's engagement with books and screens where it matters most: within the everyday rhythms of family life. Through survey data and diverse family portraits, it reveals how reading and digital media now intertwine, how parental habits shape household media cultures, and what all this means for the future of children's literacy and imagination.

Between Reading and Screens offers a fresh and essential perspective on how families are navigating a rapidly evolving mediascape - and what's at stake for the next generation of readers.

Sybil Nolan is Associate Professor in Publishing and Communications at the University of Melbourne, where she co-leads the Child and Family Mediascape Research Group. Before her current role, she worked in book publishing and journalism. Sybil is currently a publisher at Grattan Street Press, the teaching press at the University of Melbourne.

Wonsun Shin is Associate Professor in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne, where she co-leads the Child and Family Mediascape Research Group. Her awarding-winning work has been published extensively in leading communication journals such as New Media & Society, Communication Research, Computers in Human Behavior, the International Journal of Advertising…

Katherine Day is a Senior Lecturer in Publishing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Prior to her academic career, she worked as a fiction and non-fiction trade book editor. She has been published in leading journals New Writing, TEXT Australia, and AI & Ethics. Her most recent monograph, Digital Children's Picture…

Xin Pei is a lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne. Before joining the University of Melbourne. Her current projects include comprehending the perceptions and acceptance of medical AI by older adults, developing a co-design approach to involve epilepsy patients in the design of AI-assisted seizure detection and diagnosis tools, and identifying…