UK report: Half of adults not reading regularly

In the UK, new research suggests that half of UK adults are not reading regularly and almost a quarter of young people (aged 16 to 24 years) have never been readers, reports the Bookseller.

The Reading Agency’s Reading State of the Nation survey—conducted with 2003 ‘nationally representative consumers’ in the UK—also indicated that over one third (35%) of UK adults ‘used to read but have stopped’, said the Bookseller, with the decline in reading most prominent among young adults, who ‘face the most barriers to reading’. Lack of time (33%), difficulty finishing (30%) or focusing (28%), and ‘the distraction of social media’ (20%) were among the barriers to reading cited by research participants.

This report follows related research also shared by the Bookseller last month, which found a drop of 4.4% in the number of books being read by children and young people in the UK and Ireland, and a relative decline in challenge and comprehension in teens’ reading habits, compared to younger children.

Category: International news