Large Fonts

I’m wondering if writers and readers are preferring larger fonts because they’re becoming so accustom to reading quick, short snippets of text, as opposed to committing to something longer and more hefty. The advent of Twitter and Facebook has certainly decreased our willingness to commit to heftier text. (Not all hefty text is bad, but not all succinct text is great either.)

I’m certainly not bashing larger fonts here. I use a larger font here on my site. I’m simply wondering if the trend in larger fonts is actually motivated not by a desire for better readability, but rather because it allows us to write shorter things while still making that writing feel important and increases the chances of a visitor committing to reading because the large font makes the reading feel quick.

If everybody was motivated by speed and productivity we’d all want small fonts, as smaller fonts increase the speed at which we can read something (that’s based on neuroscience and studies in speed-reading). But there’s a fine balance between readability (ease on the eyes) and speed, which I think largely depends on the type of content.

For example, if I’m reading a story or someone’s experience on the web, I want larger fonts so I can lean back and enjoy at my leisure. On the other hand, if I’m researching something and need to do a lot of scanning (I’m thinking technical articles, how-to’s, Wikipedia, etc.), I want small text so I can quickly scan a lot of stuff at once.