​I just read this article about some early e-reading studies that found that some people find it harder to retain or remember what they read on an e-reader. I might have agreed with them based on some of the first versions of e-readers but with the newest e-reading software, I would disagree.

My guess is that the data studied is based on the earlier versions of e-readers that involved endless scrolling. 

The interesting part of this article is the subject of reading landmarks - something that the author calls the "method of loci". What this basically equates to is learning to visualize the text in a location on the page.  We've all done it . . . you remember that you read that at the bottom of the page or at the end of a section, etc.  In the old versions of e-readers, there was no spatial context for "pages" because there were none. So you had no landmark.  With the newer readers, they more closely resemble books and page turning.

I remember my first Kindle. At the bottom of the screen, there was a number that gradually increased toward the larger number, which I assumed was the end of the book. Even as mathematically minded as I was, it just wasn't the same as knowing I was on page 52 out of 489. But even so, I had "pages".  Prior to this software, pages didn't exist.

One thing I do agree with - I couldn't remember anything I read if I had to read from a mobile phone.  I would have a perpetual migraine.  I think the iPad is a great size for reading. The Kindle Fire is also a good size.  Neither is too small so you don't spend all your time turning pages, searching, or scrolling.

Perhaps an update on the study might show that e-reading has improved since the original study was done and that digital isn't so bad after all.

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Here's the article:  http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impair-memory/