Reading culture in a digital transition

In the digital age, reading culture is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Manifestations of this process have been observed over the past twenty years; however, no one has yet undertaken to clearly predict their prospects. The forecasts of some specialists are characterized by cultural pessimism (the end of book culture is near), by prediction of diversification of specific media (print culture will find its new niche), or by technological optimism (digital innovation is ahead). The documentary stream is abundant in reasoning, research on digital technologies, digital culture, digital transformation of the society, etc., but, at the same time, it reveals a shortage of publications on the culture of reading in general and its current state in particular. The author of the article reflects on the transformation of reading culture, the current realities of digital reading on a global scale, as well as changes taking place in the field of perception, consumption, information processing and interpretation of texts.