Americans are putting down books in record numbers, with a new study revealing that daily reading for pleasure has dropped by 40% over the past two decades. As technology vies for attention, only 16% of Americans now make time for leisure reading each day (including magazines and newspapers), down from 28% in 2003. The research, from the University of Florida and University College London, draws on time-use data from nearly 240,000 Americans between 2003 and 2023, excluding pandemic-disrupted 2020, per the Washington Post. The habit of reading to children has held steady, but remains uncommon, with only 2% of adults doing so daily. (That might explain kids' poor reading scores.)
The study, published Wednesday in the journal iScience, highlights broad divides. College graduates are nearly three times as likely to read for enjoyment each day as those with only a high school diploma. Women, white respondents, and people with higher incomes report reading more, while men, Black respondents, and lower-income groups read less. A separate 2023 YouGov poll found that nearly half of Americans didn't read a single book that year, with lower rates of reading among the less educated.
While the study doesn't pinpoint causes for the decline, experts link it to shrinking attention spans and a glut of digital content. Gloria Mark, a digital behavior researcher, notes that the average screen attention span dropped from 2.5 minutes in 2004 to 47 seconds in 2016, per the Post. Researchers say the consequences go beyond cultural concerns. Jill Sonke, co-director of the EpiArts Lab at the University of Florida, calls reading "one of the simplest tools in our public health toolkit," supporting mental health and well-being, per the Guardian. Closing racial and economic gaps in reading could benefit public health, she adds, per the Post, calling for expanded library and internet access.
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