Young kids read more, study says
It turns out that younger kids read a lot more for fun than their teenage counterparts. I came across an interesting article on Publishers Weekly that gives the results of a study done by Scholastic. In part, the article says:
The study found that a majority of children (68%) think it is "extremly" or "very" important to read for pleasure, and "like" or "love" doing so. However, that number decreases with age: 82% percent of children ages five to eight "like" or "love" reading, compared to 55% for children ages 15 to 17. It also found that although children can readily envision a future in which reading and technology are increasingly intertwined, nearly two thirds prefer to read physical books, rather than on a computer screen or digital device.
I find the last part of the quote particularly interesting: That most children prefer a physical book to a digital device (computer screen, ebook reader, etc). On the one hand, it is a good sign that kids are enjoying reading at such an early age. However, it is still troubling that reading sort of falls off the radar as they get older and that ebooks still aren’t on the radar with this younger generation.
Children are our future
I hate to use that tired, old phrase, but it is very appropriate for this particular issue. These children will eventually grow up to be adults. Will their aversion to ebooks carry into adulthood? It’s hard to say. When I grew up, for example, ebooks were unheard of and the internet was just starting to gain steam. Now I love ebooks and read them at every opportunity. So I’m not sure if those children that were questioned for this study mean that ebooks have no future.
I just wonder why those children start off loving reading and then eventually that love affair trickles out. I’d like to think that television, the internet and video games have something to do with it, but I don’t want to say for sure since the study doesn’t appear to answer that question. The trick is, I guess, finding a way to keep kids hooked on reading well into adulthood!
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Read More: Publishing News, Reading
