Social Network Communication and Reading Practices of Ukrainian High School Students

The article reveals the peculiarities of reading practices of Ukrainian high school students compared to their communication on social networks. The empirical part of the article is based on the results of a study conducted in September-October 2023 using the method of in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten Ukrainian high school students. The participants of the study ranked social network communication or movies in the first place, while literature was ranked second or third, and video games were more often ranked fourth. It is noted that high school students did not provide categorical comparative assessments of social network communication and literature in an “either/or” format, as their contents are completely different. High school students noted not only a negative but also a positive impact of social network sites on their reading practices, since they have the opportunity to find any necessary literature on the Internet; social networks provide useful information about various literary texts. The results of the content analysis of school textbooks on Ukrainian and foreign literature for 10th and 11th grades revealed the absence of literary works of the genres preferred by high school students. The genre attractiveness of the school literature curriculum can become a powerful “pull” factor for students compared to the “push” influence of social network sites. It is concluded that it is necessary to reform school curriculum of Ukrainian and foreign literature to make them more consistent with the literary genre preferences of Ukrainian high school students.