Is easy-to-read easy for everyone? An eye-tracking study across the adult lifespan

Easy-to-Read (E2R) formatting is widely recommended to improve reading accessibility, yet whether its typographic and structural features benefit visual processing and comprehension across the adult lifespan remains unclear.

Using eye tracking, we examined whether E2R text formatting, relative to a standard control format, supports reading comprehension, reading time, and eye-movement behavior in 69 adults aged 18 to 83 years. Participants read short texts in both formats in a within-subject design while their eye movements were recorded, and reading comprehension was subsequently assessed. Data were analysed using mixed-effects models, with Text Format, Trial Order, Age, and theoretically relevant interactions entered as predictors across five dependent variables: comprehension accuracy, reading time, fixation count, average fixation duration, and average saccade amplitude.

E2R formatting did not significantly improve comprehension or reduce reading time relative to the control format. However, it was associated with shorter average fixation durations and larger average saccade amplitudes, suggesting some facilitation of visual processing during reading. Average fixation duration also showed a significant Text Format × Age interaction, whereby the difference between E2R and control formatting was more evident in younger adults and attenuated with increasing age, rather than becoming more pronounced among older readers as might be expected for an E2R format.

E2R formatting may facilitate some aspects of visual processing during reading across the adult lifespan, but these differences did not translate into improved comprehension or faster reading. Moreover, the observed visual-processing benefit did not become more pronounced with increasing age. These findings highlight the importance of evaluating the specific effects of E2R adaptations rather than assuming uniform benefits across adult age groups.