Survey Shows Americans Are Reading Less, but Women and Young People Read the Most

A new survey from Pew Research Center found that Americans are reading less than before, with a seven percent drop since 2011. Pew polled a total of 1,907 Americans, finding that although there is a slight dip from the previous year, most Americans still read. The survey found that 72 percent of Americans have read a book in the last year, with over half of them reading four or more books. The average number of books read in the past year was 14.

When it comes to print books, numbers have dropped as much as six percent in the last year. An impulse to blame this on digital readership might be correct, as there has been a ten percent increase in readers of digital books since 2011. However, there is little to no difference between the amount of Americans who claimed to have read a digital book in 2014 and 2015.

Another interesting detail is that people between 18 and 29 are more likely to read than their elders, with as much as 80 percent claiming to have read a book in the last year. Women are also more avid readers than men, according to the survey, which also found that high education and a high average household income are factors that make Americans read more. One might deduce that our literary future lays in the hands of young, well-educated women with high incomes.