Reading for pleasure in the US has declined by more than 40 per cent over the past 20 years according to analysis of the daily lives of Americans, supporting several smaller studies that suggest fewer people are using their leisure time to read.
Analysing data from the US government’s American Time Use Survey, researchers at the University of Florida and University College London found that of the 236,000 Americans surveyed the proportion who read for pleasure on an average day fell from 28 per cent in 2003 to 16 per cent in 2023.
“This is not just a small dip — it’s a sustained decline of about 3 per cent per year,” said Jill Sonke at the University of Florida. “It’s significant and deeply concerning.” The results will be published in the journal iScience.
The study included any kind of reading done for enjoyment or purposes other than work or school, including ebooks on screen or listening to audio books, as well as traditional books, newspapers and magazines in print. Although electronic media have added many new ways to read, the researchers expressed confidence in their methodology.
US Reading decline is dramatic over the last 20 years, but no decline among teens…because they never read much in the first place, a point I’ve been harping on for years, as people often focus on social media & teens re: ⬇️in reading.
