Do today's teens read less or more?

[scottkennedy12]

I think that in today's society it is seen as dorky to read and so therefore less teens do it, as they are too busy going out and drinking. There very few teens now who read anything as they see it as too idiotic and time consuming. People lack the creative minds to enjoy a good book.

[TodorPavlov161216]

I think in the 21st century teenagers find books much less appealing than teenagers in the past did. Today if you walk into a library half the young people would be on their phones while the other will be attempting to read a book. It is becoming rare to find teenagers actually reading books now. Now the age of technology is here, so books are put on the back shelf. Perhaps one day the time will come when books will be a fashion again. But until then the readers who remain have to wait for that moment.

[Booky_BettyC]

I personally think the amount of teens reading has gone downhill. I think a lot of it has to do with the pressures of being "cool" now in days. One example happens frequently is on social media. I have a cousin that is in her teens, and checking out her Facebook friends, pictures, etc I ended up page hopping and looking at the interests and such. When it came to books I found most people would write, "Book? What's a book?", or something that would make reading seem lame or turn it into a joke. I then started randomly looking at whoever and was surprised to see the same in the younger ages. I personally think that highschool should have what elementary schools do, like a library time. Maybe if reading their own options for books instead of the forced regular ones for class, teens would be more open to reading.

[Annelore Trujillo]

I am only 20, so I'm just out of my teenage years. Teenagers rarely read for fun, and it's getting worse with the younger generations. In high school I only knew a few people who read for fun. I worked in an elementary school last year, and those kids don't even understand what it means to read for fun. I read constantly when I was that age, and most of those kids have never even read through a book. It's sad.

[barb429]

It's hard to say. I know that my nieces and nephews do not read (especially not as much as I did at their age). However, my sister was also not a big reader. I don't necessarily think that teens are reading less, they just are using different formats. When I was a teenager (20 years ago!), not many of my friends read either.

[adria_charles]

It's been almost a decade since I was a teenager. Since graduating high school I have worked with youth all through my college years and after. It breaks my heart to say that teens, from what I have observed, read less than when I was younger. I didn't read as much as I wish I did when I was a teenager, but I am sure I read more then than how much teens do today. With as much technology and social media out there, it appears to me that, that is what they are hooked into more so than reading books.

My question though, is could the reason teens don't read as much today is because there parents or guardians don't as well? I grew up with parents who read a lot so I am sure I got my love for reading from watching them growing up.

[Millsamber]

I am seventeen and I agree. In school I've always been quick to do my work and understand the concept so I usually pull out a book or ask to go to the library. For some reason, other kids my age are astounded when I come back with three or four books (usually the amount I can read in a week and a half) or use words that they've never heard before. I don't think they understand how useful reading is. When I was younger, my thought process and critical thinking skills were probably on par with everyone else my age. As I got introduced to reading, however, I got moved up into our special kids program due to how well my critical thinking improved. And now, at 17, I'm the only one in my grade at my school who has scored a 34 on the ACT.

[MrsRay]

I think the parents really set the tone in the home as to what is important. If the parents value reading, the children are more likely to think it is important. I took my children to the library every week since the time they were babies and I read to them, and not just at bed time. As they got older they started to read to me, and of course they would see me reading because I enjoyed it. As a result, I now have two teenage daughters who love to read, and we still go to the library once a week. I have read different series with each of my girls which was very bonding as we talked about the books together.

[Ama Idim]

Today's teens are reading less as compared to time past, had the opportunity of speaking to some about it and they say they find it boring and will prefer a film adaptation.

-- 04 Aug 2017, 03:07 --

In my opinion and from observation, today's teen are distracted by other things and they read less.

[Juliar252]

Probably less considering there are other means of entertainment such as tv, internet, social media, etc.

[zarah_]

I think they read less physical books, and more through screens, i.e. phones, tablets, kindles. It's just easier to carry around than have to lug books. I do think that their attention spans have decreased because of distractions such as the videos on the internet and 240 character tweets.

[Kristin Ransome]

I think teens might actually be reading more, with all the readily available technology that makes books easily accessible for everyone! I read on my phone in public (which looks like I'm just on my phone) and my friend listens to audiobooks instead of music! I think the increase in technology just prevents people from seeing the amount of reading that teens are doing

[ayomie]

I think in this era of t.v. iPhone, games, texting, movies, ect.... the younger generation are too distracted with other stuff then reading,

So true, teens would rather play games or watch movies rather pick up a book and read.

[ayomie]

I think in this era of t.v. iPhone, games, texting, movies, ect.... the younger generation are too distracted with other stuff then reading,

So true, teens would play games or watch movies rather pick up a book and read.

[Henrytbab]

I've been wondering about this for a while, and decided to seek out an opinion other than my own. Many surveys seem to say that teens are now spending less time reading for pleasure than in previous decades. But at the same time, there are certain books (particularly series such as Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc.) that seem to be increasing the popularity of reading among teens. Do you think teenagers nowadays are less or more interested in reading compared to years ago?

Based on population alone, the number of teens reading nowadays are increasing.