Argus Survey Finds Students Don't Read Much, and They Rarely Read for Fun
Forty-two percent of respondents said they “don’t like reading.” Image: The Midwood Argus x Nano Banana
By THE ARGUS STAFF
National surveys have shown a growing decline in reading amongst young people as well as adults. This worrisome trend has been building for years, but it accelerated after 2020 as short form video became more popular.
We were curious to find out more about teens’ reading habits, so we conducted a poll of 152 Midwood students to learn how much they read, what they read, as well as a bit about their reading history.
Our respondents were not a balanced cross-section of the teen population: 71% were A students, 53% were Asian American, and 55% were female. With that said, the findings are still illustrative of reading trends amongst young people.
Even in this largely high-achieving sample, 33% said they “never” read for their own interest or enjoyment, and an additional 28% read for fun only 1-2 times per month. Only 10% said they read for their own interest every day. The reading rates were a little lower for boys than for girls: amongst boys, 37% “never” read for fun, compared to 31% for girls.
Many studies have emphasized the value of daily reading time. However, nearly half of our respondents (44%) reported that their typical total reading time — including both for school and for fun — was less than 30 minutes per day. Another 34% said they read for between 30 minutes and one hour total, including what school requires of them.
In previous eras, it was common for students to read for an hour during the school day alone, adding up their English, history, science, and elective classes. Homework and personal reading could easily raise the total to over two hours. However, only 8% of the respondents in our survey reported reading for two hours or more per day when adding everything up.
When they do read, graphic novels and manga were respondents’ top choices, along with popular fiction genres such as horror, romance, or suspense. One in five students read articles on the news or current events, and only one in ten like to pick up a classic or “literary” work.
Many respondents regretted their lack of reading: 57% said they feel like they should read more, though sadly, 42% said “I don’t really like reading.” Technology is at least partially to blame: 32% agreed with the statement “I used to read for fun a lot more before I got my cell phone,” and 38% said, “I have a hard time staying focused when I read.”
Home life is also a factor in developing reading habits. While 55% of students said they grew up with a lot of books in the house, only 30% said their parents read to them “a lot” when they were a kid.
Again, as our sample overrepresented students with a 90%+ grade point average, one can assume that the worrying reading trends here are even more dire for the overall teen population. If the youth reading rates look like this for Midwood’s motivated student body, what might they look like for the nation as a whole?
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
1) Students do not read very much.
44% of students polled read for less than 30 minutes a day total (including for school)
8% read for two hours or more per day
2) Students rarely read for fun.
10% read for fun every day
61% read for fun two times a month or less
42% said they don’t like reading
3) Technology likely plays a role.
32% agreed that “I used to read for fun a lot more before I got my cell phone.”
38% agreed that “I have a hard time staying focused when I read.”