GENDER DIFFERENCES IN READING PREFERENCE: EVIDENCE FROM A MOBILE PHONE PLATFORM

Two studies were conducted to investigate gender differences in a sample of young South African readers from poor communities. In the first study, the self-reported reading preferences of 2 775 readers on a mobile phone platform supplied by the FunDza Literacy Trust were surveyed. Both male and female readers indicated that they liked four genres in particular: romance, drama, non- fiction, and stories with specific South African content. There were nevertheless some differences, such as that a higher percentage of males liked stories involving sport. The second study examined the unique FunDza site visits made by readers, as a proxy measure of what they actually were reading. Four genres stood out: romance, drama, biography, and action/adventure. Again the similarity between male and female readers was noticeable, although many more females than males read content on the site.