NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Is reading for fun going the way of the dinosaur? A new study finds that Americans are now less likely to pick up a book.<\/p>\n
Settling down with a good read was once a popular pastime, but according to an Aug. 20 study published in the journal iScience<\/a>, conducted by researchers from the University of Florida and University of College London, that is no longer be the case.<\/p>\n Researchers pulled national data spanning 2003-2023 from the American Time User Survey, which\u00a0asked Americans how they spent their days. The study found that the number of Americans who reported that they read for enjoyment\u00a0declined from 28 percent in 2004 to just 16 percent in 2023.\n<\/p>\n Stock image of a person reading a book.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n The study defined reading as also encapsulating formats like magazines, e-books, print and electronic newspapers and audiobooks.\n<\/p>\n While there were no definitive answers for why reading habits declined, the study\u2019s authors suggested that social media, along with \u201cthe replacement of reading by other media\u201d may be contributing factors.\u00a0They also found that people in the U.S. are reading less fiction, preferring to read books that “fulfill practical needs.\u201d<\/p>\n Researchers also found that, of the more than 236,000 people surveyed, individuals with higher incomes were more likely to read for pleasure than those with lower incomes, higher-educated people were more likely to read than the least-educated people and women were more likely to consistently read than men.\n<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n There’s also troubling news for bedtime. The study found that despite more than 20 percent of the people surveyed having a child under 9 years old, only 2 percent of them read books with the child. A 2019 study published by The Journal of Pediatrics<\/a> determined that reading with children early could positively impact vocabulary skills and development<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Stock image of a group of people reading books.<\/p>\n Getty<\/p>\n