The alarming death of pleasure reading

Pleasure reading is dying among adults and children in America. According to a recent study, the practice of daily pleasure reading has declined 40% over the past two decades. Pew Research Center analyzed a 2021 National Assessment of Educational Progress survey that indicated reading for fun daily among children ages 9-13 has decreased to its lowest level since the 1980s.

This downward trend isn’t surprising. The sharp decline in pleasure reading has been impacted by our culture’s engagement with modern technology. High-speed internet, smartphones, Kindles, and iPads shape the way our society views tech and free time. Recent data from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences states that “while only 9.5% of 15-to-24-year-olds read more than 20 minutes a day for pleasure in 2023, almost 80% spent more than 20 minutes a day engaged in screen-related activities and noncomputer games.”

Social media consumption and scrolling on Instagram and TikTok have replaced reading time. Fewer people are perusing library shelves or strolling through bookstores to find new books to read. Even digital reading options, such as listening to audiobooks and reading eBooks, are plummeting in popularity. In the age of doomscrolling on smartphones, we’re inundated with a myriad of choices for entertainment besides reading: playing on apps, gaming, watching videos on YouTube, and consuming social media content, to name a few. We spend more time on our phones than ever, and excessive screen time is harming our physical and mental health.

In contrast to other forms of entertainment, pleasure reading offers many benefits to people of all ages. Researchers found that reading has a positive association with brain development in children. Children who read for fun from an early age have better cognitive performance in school, a higher IQ, and better language development. They also found that reading for pleasure was associated with “fewer mental health issues, less stress symptoms, and fewer behavior problems,” according to a 2023 survey analyzed by Psychology Today.

Pleasure reading provides adults with cognitive and social benefits. Adults who read a lot gain knowledge, develop a stronger vocabulary, are more empathetic, and have better reading comprehension, according to a recent article in Psychology Today. Reading opens doors for learning and connection. Readers are more likely to join book clubs that provide healthy social outlets.

We must strive to read more and reap the benefits of pleasure reading. Reading books was instilled in me from a young age, and I became an avid reader. I remember visiting the elementary school library each morning and finding new books to read for fun and level up in Accelerated Reader, a national reading program. My family always encouraged me to read books of all genres and find books that I enjoyed reading at appropriate reading levels. My passion for reading and learning has deepened my desire to become a lifelong learner, especially as a writer.

I believe parents (even if they’re not huge readers themselves) must read aloud to their children and encourage them to read clean, age-appropriate books of all genres. Exploration of different genres and discovering books that interest their children (and grandchildren) is key to developing a habit and practice of reading for fun.

Teens also need encouragement to read when they can, outside of the middle and high school required reading books. As a youth leader, I understand the hesitancy most students express when reading books for fun comes up in conversation. Many don’t see the value in reading and haven’t delved into various genres of books to read besides the classics and required titles for school. We must teach them to engage with reading and show them how valuable it is, especially in most of their future careers. If we don’t encourage the next generation to read, we’ll not equip them for their future careers as lawyers, professors, journalists, editors, teachers, librarians, etc.

Teaching our children and grandchildren to read for pleasure requires us to value reading in our lives and model it in our homes. Pleasure reading takes discipline and effort but reaps benefits for all ages. We read for pleasure and glorify God through it. Let’s encourage the next generation to read for fun more often and challenge ourselves to do the same.