Young Adults Don’t Read. Here’s What We Can Do About It.

Compared with the past, the majority of young adults don’t read for pleasure. It’s not that they can’t. It’s that they choose not to. In 1980, 60 percent of 12th graders said they read a book, newspaper or magazine every day that wasn’t assigned for school, one study found. By 2016, only 16 percent did—a huge drop, even though the book, newspaper or magazine could be one read on a digital device (the survey question doesn’t specify format). The number of 12th graders who said they had not read any books for pleasure in the last year nearly tripled, landing at one out of three. (more)