The National Book Center has just made public the results of its latest study entitled “Young French people and reading”. Conducted by the polling firm Ipsos, we learn in particular that young people spend six times more time on the web than reading.
TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat rather than a good book. This is how we could summarize the results of the latest study by the Center national du livre. This analysis, whose data was compiled by the polling firm Ipsos, aimed to measure, understand and identify the practices as well as the levers and obstacles to reading among young people between the ages of 7 and 25.
For the occasion, 1500 young French boys and girls were questioned about their reading habits. The children answered a twenty-minute questionnaire, and the thing was made fun by the integration of Ben, an animated character acting as a virtual investigator.
So, what can we learn from this study conducted by the CNL? First, many young people still read. Thereby, 81% of respondents read for leisure and for personal taste, a figure that rises to 77% for non-primary students (college, high school, university, etc.). On average, they read 5.4 books between January and March 2022. Unsurprisingly, comics, comics and manga are the most popular content, read by 73% of respondents.
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Reading still resists in front of screens
Another encouraging point, young people aged between 7 and 25 read above all for pleasure, at 48%. Nevertheless, a lack of love persists. 16% of respondents said they hate reading. In addition, the dropout from reading is massive from adolescence, and especially after entering college. Thereby, only 68% of boys continue to read for leisurethe share remains higher among girls with 81%.
And as you can imagine, screens quickly take over. On average, leisure readers read 3h14 per week, while all 7-25 year olds (whether they are readers or not) spend almost 4h in front of a screen each day. This duration explodes among 20-25 year olds, with 5h33 per day on average. In addition, reading is now systematically accompanied by a screen, since 47% of young people continue to send messages, consult their social networks or watch videos during their reading session.
The CNL is still optimistic, stating that this interest in screens has developed new practices among young people, 40% of 7-25 year olds having already read an e-book or listened to an audio book (58%). “There is reason for hope, as young people appreciate that books and reading come to them. So we have to go get them in the field, to allow them to read as they want when they want, and to have an uninhibited attitude to reading”. concludes the National Book Center.
