Academic or non-academic, fiction or non-fiction, and whether in books, pamphlets, blogs, or billboards, reading is a standard human activity that people engage in every day, at different capacities all over the world. People may read to get information, to learn new things to expand their knowledge of the world, or they might read as a leisure activity. However, generally, the amount of time people spend reading daily has gotten progressively lower in the last few decades, especially among young people. So, What Percentage Of High School Students Read Daily.
The number of daily readers is very low among teenagers. Current research carried out in the U.S. on this topic shows that only 17 percent of 13-year-olds read for fun daily. Students of high school age (ages 15-19) spend less than 10 minutes reading every day on average.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) carried out a survey in the 2019/20 school year, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to find what percentage of school children read daily. They got numbers for the reading habits of 9 and 13-year-old students, but when schools closed and moved their classes online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were not able to collect data for the reading habits of 17-year-olds.
These were the main results from the NAEP survey:
- Among 9-year-olds, about 42 percent of them read for fun daily, while 16 percent of them seldom read for fun.
- Among 13-year-olds, 17 percent read for fun daily, while up to 29 percent rarely read for fun.
- Female students generally read for fun more frequently than male students.
There was no data for the percentage of 17-year-old daily reading. However, in 2012 when the last survey was done, only 19 percent read for fun every day, and about 27 percent hardly or never read for fun. According to Statista.com, young people between the ages of 15-19 spent 0.14 hours reading daily in 2020.
The numbers have dropped significantly since 2012 when the percentages of daily readers among 9 and 13-year-olds were 53% and 27% respectively. After the new survey, daily reading percentages in this age group were said to be “at their lowest points since the question was first asked in 1984.”
Reasons for the Drop in Leisure Reading Among Students. Is it Bad?
Extensive research has been done over time to ascertain the reasons for the drop in reading for pleasure, with researchers not being able to directly link it to one direct problem.
Some researchers link the decline in reading to the proliferation of digital and social media, saying that young people have shorter attention spans today because of the nature of websites and social media. An average person spends less than 20 seconds on a webpage, constantly switching between sites in the search for what they want. People also read less traditional print media today than they did in the 80s and 90s, and many newspapers, books, and magazines now even have digital alternatives in websites and e-books.
One other reason for the reduction in reading among young people is that as students grow older and move through school, they are required to read more challenging books and this might make reading less enjoyable for them. Influence from older people around the children could also be a factor. Children who grow up around books and adults that read a lot also tend to read for pleasure themselves.
There has been a lot of research that links frequent leisure reading with good academic performance. A 2016 study showed that students that read more outside school performed better in Math, English, Science, and History.
Benefits You Can Get When You Read for Leisure
Reading for pleasure outside school has been linked to many benefits for young people and their lives as students. The advantages you can get when you read for fun include:
Improved Focus
Reading requires more brain work than activities like watching TV or listening to podcasts. Therefore, reading requires more focus, and frequent reading helps students with focusing and memory.
Developing Critical Thinking
Reading for fun helps children develop critical thinking, which is beneficial for them in assessing real-life decisions and solving problems they face.
Reading Helps Improve Vocabulary
Another benefit of reading is that it helps children grow their vocabulary. This is especially true in elementary and middle school, where children do a lot of reading to learn new words.
Expanding Worldview
Reading helps children understand people and cultures better, enabling them to be more tolerant of others and accept their differences. Reading also helps inform people about the realities of other parts of the world and it can help remove a person’s prejudice.
Reducing Stress and Depression
Reading is also a means of relaxation and helps reduce stress levels in people. Research shows that children who read a lot are less prone to loneliness, and can help reduce depression in young people and adults.
Steps to Improve Leisure Reading
Parents have important roles to play to help their children imbibe a reading habit and make reading fun for them. They can start by leading by example and reading so that their children learn from them. They can also help by getting books for their children based on their interests, and letting their children choose the books they want to read. Working with teachers to help their children read better also works well.
If you would like to read more, or you want to improve your reading experience, you can also take steps to make reading more enjoyable for yourself. Doing things like asking yourself questions and answering them, and visualizing what you read can help with this. It is also advisable to read hard copy books. Avoid reading on your phone or computer if you can, especially if you don’t read much already, because you can be easily distracted.
Conclusion
It is important that young people—especially school-age children—read in their leisure time. Improving your reading habit could help you academically and be beneficial for you in many other ways.
Frequently Asked Questions.
- How can I start reading more?
To build a reading habit, you can start by setting goals for yourself. Also, it would help if you started reading shorter books or books about things that interest you to build your interest in reading.
- What percentage of people struggle with reading?
About 14 percent of the U.S. population are struggling readers. The percentage of struggling readers among school children is about 20-25 percent.
- Are reading levels declining?
Yes, the frequency at which people read for pleasure has been on the decline since the 80s. Today, less than 50 percent of American adults read for fun every day.
