A reading meter system and method is provided for identifying the existence and position of text in visual media content (e.g., a document to be displayed (or being displayed) on a computer monitor or other display device) and determining if a subject has interacted with the text and/or the level of the subjects interaction with the text (e.g., whether the subject looked at the text, whether the subject read the text, whether the subject comprehended the text, whether the subject perceived and made sense of the text, and/or other levels of the subjects interaction with the text). The determination may, for example, be based on data generated from an eye tracking device. The reading meter system may be used alone and/or in connection with an emotional response tool (e.g., a software-based tool for determining the subjects emotional response to the text and/or other elements of the visual media content on which the text appears). If used together, the reading meter system and emotional response tool advantageously may both receive, and perform processing on, eye date generated from a common eye tracking device.