from the National Endowment for the Arts' Office of Research and Analysis' report, "To Read or Not to Read, A Question of National Consequence", Research Report #47, November, 2007
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/ToRead.pdf
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The story the data tell is simple, consistent, and alarming. Although there has been measurable progress in recent years in reading ability at the elementary school level, all progress appears to halt as children enter their teenage years. There is a general decline in reading among teenage and adult Americans. Most alarming, both reading ability and the habit of regular reading have greatly declined among college graduates. These negative trends have more than literary importance.
As this report makes clear, the declines have demonstrable social, economic, cultural, and civic implications. How does one summarize this disturbing story? As Americans, especially younger Americans, read less, they read less well. Because they read less well, they have lower levels of academic achievement. (The shameful fact that nearly one-third of American teenagers drop out of school is deeply connected to declining literacy and reading comprehension.) With lower levels of reading and writing ability, people do less well in the job market. Poor reading skills correlate heavily with lack of employment, lower wages, and fewer opportunities for advancement. Significantly worse reading skills are found among prisoners than in the general adult population. And deficient readers are less likely to become active in civic and cultural life, most notably in volunteerism and voting.
Whether or not people read, and indeed how much and how often they read, affects their lives in crucial ways.
All of the data suggest how powerfully reading transforms the lives of individuals—whatever their social circumstances. Regular reading not only boosts the likelihood of an individual’s academic and economic success—facts that are not especially surprising—but it also seems to awaken a person’s social and civic sense. Reading correlates with almost every measurement of positive personal and social behavior surveyed. It is reassuring, though hardly amazing, that readers attend more concerts and theater than non-readers, but it is surprising that they exercise more and play more sports—no matter what their educational level. The cold statistics confirm something that most readers know but have mostly been reluctant to declare as fact—books change lives for the better.
To Read or Not To Read confirms—without any serious qualification—the central importance of reading for a prosperous, free society. The data here demonstrate that reading is an irreplaceable activity in developing productive and active adults as well as healthy communities. Whatever the benefits of newer electronic media, they provide no measurable substitute for the intellectual and personal development initiated and sustained by frequent reading.
To Read or Not To Read is not an elegy for the bygone days of print culture, but instead is a call to action—not only for parents, teachers, librarians, writers, and publishers, but also for politicians, business leaders, economists, and social activists. The general decline in reading is not merely a cultural issue, though it has enormous consequences for literature and the other arts. It is a serious national problem. If, at the current pace, America continues to lose the habit of regular reading, the nation will suffer substantial economic, social, and civic setbacks.
It is no longer reasonable to debate whether the problem exists. It is now time to become more committed to solving it - or face the consequences. The nation needs to focus more attention and resources on an activity both fundamental and irreplaceable for democracy.
~ Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
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Young adults are reading fewer books in general.
Nearly half of all Americans ages 18 to 24 read no books for pleasure.
Reading is declining as an activity among teenagers.
Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers. The percentage of 17-year-olds who read nothing at all for pleasure has doubled over a 20-year period, yet the amount they read for school or home-work (15 or fewer pages daily for 62% of students) has stayed the same.
Voluntary reading rates diminish from childhood to late adolescence.
College attendance no longer guarantees active reading habits.
Although reading tracks closely with education level, the percentage of college graduates who read literature has declined. 65% of college freshmen read for pleasure for less than an hour per week or not at all.
The percentage of non-readers among these students has nearly doubled—climbing 18 points since they graduated from high school.
By the time they become college seniors, one in three students read nothing at all for pleasure in a given week. Teens and young adults spend less time reading than people of other age groups.
Americans between 15 and 34 years of age devote less leisure time than older age groups to reading anything at all. 15-to 24-year-olds spend only 7–10 minutes per day on voluntary reading—about 60% less time than the average American. By contrast, 15-to 24-year-olds spend 2 to 2½ hours per day watching TV. This activity consumes the most leisure time for men and women of all ages.
Even when reading does occur, it competes with other media. This multi-tasking suggests less focused engagement with a text. 58% of middle and high school students use other media while reading.
Students report using media during 35% of their weekly reading time - TV-watching, video/computer game-playing, instant messaging, e-mailing or Web surfing.
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