According to the conclusions of an Ipsos study published this Wednesday, March 23, reading is experiencing a sharp decline among adolescents, and especially among boys.
“Young French people and reading”I’Ipsos study for the National Book Center (CNL) published Wednesday, March 23, 2022 reveals that “the drop out of reading in adolescence is still very present and real”. And in particular the so-called “leisure” reading, that is to say which does not fall within the school framework. It declines sharply after 12 years and entering college. An even more marked drop among boys (13-15 years old) who are now only 68% reading for pleasure compared to 81% among girls of the same age.
Fewer books, more screens
This dropping out of reading in adolescence takes place to the benefit of screens. Indeed, as the study points out, the time devoted to leisure reading is on average 3h14 per week, compared to 3h50 per day on screens among all 7-25 year olds (readers or not). Screens are also omnipresent in the lives of young people, who use them even when they read. Thus, Ipsos reports that 47% of them send messages, go on social networks or watch videos at the same time as they read a book. Screens nevertheless allow the emergence of new practices among young people, since 40% of 7-25 year olds have already read a digital book and 58% have already listened to an audiobook or podcast.
Many young people still enjoy reading
Despite this global stall, 7-25 year olds are still numerous (81%) to like to read and have devoured an average of 5.4 pounds over the past 3 months. From the entrance to college, there are still 77% to read for pleasure. What do they like about reading? The pleasure that this activity provides for 48% of them. This is followed, tied, by the benefits of “relaxation” (43%) and “escape” (43%). Finally, 31% of these young readers, especially 7-19 year olds, say they read to keep busy. As for their literary tastes, they vary according to age. In effect, 7-19 year olds turn more to comics, manga and comics (73%) while 20-25 year olds still mostly prefer novels (58%). Finally, concerning the choice of the work, the teenagers are based in priority on its summary (47%) then on the suggestions made by their entourage (43%). For Régine Hatchondo, president of the CNL, this study shows that “to make young people want to read, especially during adolescence, we must first insist on the fact that all genres, all formats and all ways of reading are legitimate and can be a source of joy and discovery”.