Going through a reading slump? You’re not alone.
Fewer Americans are reading for fun, with a new study finding a “concerning” decline in the number of readers over the last 20 years.
Only 16% of Americans reported reading for fun on a given day in 2023, according to the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal iScience — a 40% drop from a high point of 28% in 2004.
“This is not just a small dip — it’s a sustained, steady decline of about 3% per year,” said Jill Sonke, one of the study authors and co-director of the EpiArts Lab at the University of Florida, in a news release. “It’s significant, and it’s deeply concerning.”
Why are people reading less?
The study was conducted by researchers from University College London and the University of Florida, using data from the American Time Use Survey, analyzing over 230,000 surveys of Americans age 15 and older between 2003 and 2023.
Although the study didn’t specifically address why the decline in reading is happening, the researchers did offer some possible reasons.
One of the most obvious potential culprits is the rise in time spent online, whether on streaming services or social media.
“There’s a correlation between time spent on digital media and reductions in reading time,” Sonke said, according to ABC News. “It does seem logical that the ways in which digital media compete for our time would be a factor in these declines in reading.”
But digital media isn’t the only possible factor. In the news release, Sonke also pointed to “structural issues,” including “limited access to reading materials, economic insecurity and a national decline in leisure time.”
The study noted that highly educated and high-income people were more likely to read than the least educated and low-income individuals in 2023, according to The New York Times.
According to Daisy Fancourt, a co-author of the study and a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London, “Potentially the people who could benefit the most for their health — so people from disadvantaged groups — are actually benefiting the least,” per the Times.
Why should you read?
The drop in readers is concerning to experts because there are a number of benefits that come from reading.
“I think it’s important for people to understand that reading for pleasure is actually a health promoting activity,” Sonke told ABC News. “We know that participating in the arts is a health behavior because it statistically results in improved health outcomes including well-being, social cohesion, mental health.”
Reading can reduce stress and promote relaxation, Sonke said, according to CNN. It can also help develop empathy and connection with others.
“Even though reading is often thought of as more of an individual activity, when we read stories, we actually form connections with characters,” Fancourt said, per the Times. “The empathy that we feel for them is actually real, and these connections with characters can be ways that we can feel less alone, that we can feel socially and emotionally validated.”
There are also lots of benefits to children who read with parents or other adults in their lives, including boosting kids’ academic skills. However, the study found that while the number of those who read with children did not change during the 20-year period, it was much less common than reading for pleasure.
“Reading has historically been a low-barrier, high-impact way to engage creatively and improve quality of life,” Sonke said in the news release. “When we lose one of the simplest tools in our public health toolkit, it’s a serious loss.”
How to read more books
If you want to start reading more but aren’t sure where to get started, here are some tips.
- Start with 25 minutes a day. Making a concrete goal and keeping it consistently — like reading for 25, or even five, minutes every day — helps to form new habits, according to Time magazine.
- Track your reading, whether that be through apps like Goodreads or by keeping a reading journal where you can record your thoughts, Time suggests.
- Try a new genre. Trying something new, like switching from fiction to nonfiction or reading a thriller when you typically read romance, can help reboot your excitement for reading, per The Washington Post.
- Join a book club. Reading as part of a group can help you feel a greater sense of accountability, according to the Post.
- Don’t be afraid to quit. If you’re not enjoying the book you’re reading, there’s no shame in putting it away and trying something else, Today says.
