Reading for Pleasure Plummets By 40% in the US

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

If you love nothing more than devouring a page-turner in your free time, you’re becoming a rare breed. Reading for pleasure among adults in the United States has fallen dramatically in the last two decades. A new study from the University of Florida and University College London, published in iScience, found that leisure reading, or reading for fun, has declined by 40% in the last 20 years.

The researchers used data from a large government survey of over 236,000 people from 2003 to 2023, where participants were asked to provide details of their activities during 24-hour periods. The study focused on two activities: reading for pleasure (reading a book, newspaper, magazine, reading on electronic devices, and listening to audiobooks) and reading with children. Data from 2020 was excluded because it was difficult to gather information during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research team found that the percentage of people who read for pleasure each day dropped from 28% in 2004 to 16% in 2023, representing a decline of 3% each year. However, among those who do read for pleasure, the amount of time they spent doing so increased from 1 hour and 23 minutes in 2003 to 1 hour and 37 minutes in 2023.

While the researchers did not look at the causes of this dramatic drop, they point to several possible contributing factors. These include competition from digital media and social media, as well as the possibility that some people are reading less for enjoyment and more for practical purposes, such as keeping up with online news services.

According to Dr. Jessika K. Bone, the paper’s lead author, the research makes a clear case for action. “Our findings demonstrate the urgent need for more targeted strategies to increase opportunities for reading for the whole population, and particularly among high-risk groups.”

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-pleasure-plummets.html