Abstract

The factors that predetermine and condition reading practices in the digital environment are one of the hottest and most productive research objects. This article studies the factors and contexts that produce rejection of or detachment from the adoption of digital compared with printed texts in the educational environment. For this, a systematic review of the literature was carried out through a critical analysis of the most relevant works addressing this issue from 2005 to the present day. By applying the methodology proposed by Petticrew and Roberts, a sample (n = 28) synthesizing the most relevant findings published to date in relation to the object of study was selected. The results obtained enable us to identify a series of key factors that predetermine the rejection of digital reading that can be ascribed to three essential categories (esthetic, physiological and cognitive, and pragmatic) and nine subcategories (sensory, emotional, complexity of the text, comprehension and retention, physiological aspects, ergonomics, frailty and dependency, accessibility, and interoperability). The research concludes that, although convergence and progressive assimilation in the adoption of digital texts in the educational environment can be observed, there are certain factors that condition the level of acceptance of digital compared with printed reading, and they are perceived as conditioning factors that may hinder the teaching–learning process.