In a culture that normalizes constant scrolling, streaming, and non-stop notifications, sitting down to read a book can feel like a lost art. Once considered a favorite pastime, reading for pleasure is becoming increasingly rare, especially among young people. National data and insights from Nazareth students and teachers confirm a troubling trend: many are simply too busy, too distracted, or too uninterested to pick up a book.
Reading has well-documented benefits: it boosts literacy, reduces stress, and improves cultural understanding. Despite this, Americans, particularly young ones, are reading less for fun.
According to a National Endowment for the Arts report conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, only 48.5% of adults reported reading at least one book in 2022, compared to 54.6% just a decade earlier. Similarly, the percentage of nine-year-olds who read for fun dropped from 53% in 2012 to just 39% in 2022.
“The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey” by Jessica K. Bone, Feiffer Bu, Kill K. Sonke, and Daisy Fancourt. IScience- a Cell Press journal. September 19, 2025.
Family reading rates and reading enjoyment have declined, too, with gaps widening across race, income, and education levels.
A recent survey of 58 Nazareth students painted a similar picture. While 57% of students said reading makes them feel calm and relaxed and 46% said reading generally makes them feel better their actual time spent reading is low.
37% of students reported that they never read books for fun, and only 3.7% said they always do. 35.2% read just 1–2 books a year and 37% read 3–5 books a year. Only 9.3% reported reading 20 or more books annually.
According to an American Psychological Association article from 2024, “Teens are spending nearly 5 hours daily on social media,” which is a possible explanation for students’ shift in attention.
Despite the low frequency, 93% of students said they prefer paper books over digital, and 44.4% get their books from bookstores. When it comes to genres, 43% enjoy literary fiction, while 11% prefer science fiction.
The majority of students surveyed are not members of a book club, revealing the lack of urgency to be a part of a community within literature.
English Department Chair, AP Literature and Composition and World Literature teacher Jennie Grigas is a strong advocate for reading for pleasure, but understands the struggle firsthand.
“In the beginning of the school year, I’m not reading as much because I’m either tired or busier with grading and school work,” she said. “But when I’m really into a book, I’m reading it every single day.”
Grigas believes the main reason students avoid reading is time, or the lack of it. “Reading for pleasure is just not a hobby that is highly prioritized anymore,” she said. “There are just lots of other distractions, like streaming or going on your phone.”
She added that reading requires focus, a skill not as easily found in a world of instant entertainment. Grigas said, “It’s a hard skill. There are other ways to occupy your time that probably don’t take as much focus.”
Still, she sees reading as more than just a pastime. “It encourages empathy. When we lose reading, we may be losing out on opportunities to grow as better humans.”
Director of Communications Alena Murguia holds reading in a special place in her heart. Murguia said she reads every day and tries to finish a book in a week. She is also in several book clubs. Per year, she aims to read 52 books.
Like Grigas, Murguia said she does not read as much during busier times of the year, but can finish a book in one day during lighter seasons.
Murguia, however, admits to occasionally getting lost binging TV. She said, “When I watch TV, all the work is done for me. When I’m reading, I’m still doing a little bit of the work.” She believes this correlates with current society and teenagers’ unlimited technological opportunities at their grasp.
Murguia addressed how social media and its instant gratification leads many to gravitate towards it rather than books. “I think that all of us are more tuned to being satisfied really quickly…a book, unless it has a really powerful opening line, does not capture your excitement in three seconds. You have to give it more time. And I think maybe we’re just not as patient,” Murguia said.
Murguia said she is empathetic to teenagers’ lack of reading, due to the fact that high school is a busy time in students’ lives. “If there are times, especially when school is really hard, that a binge night is what resets you, I don’t think any teenagers should feel guilty about that,” she said.
Senior Elle Coler is one student bucking the trend. She reads about 20 minutes each day. “Phones give instant dopamine,” she said. “Books take more time and effort. But I enjoy reading because there’s so much to learn. It’s an escape—you get to be in someone else’s world.”
Coler sees books as not only fun, but educational. “They inspire us, teach us about the world, and help us understand others. At the end of the day, it’s easier to focus on a book than a movie. You can go deeper and get really lost into a new world,” she said.
On the other hand, Senior Andrew Salinas does not read outside of school. “I have not read a book on my own,” he said. “There’s no point in reading. It’s boring, and I don’t have time to sit down for an hour and read,” he said
Salinas prefers audiobooks, finding them more accessible and engaging. “I’d rather listen to it than read. I find it cooler to be on an iPad than flipping through pages,”he said.
While it’s clear reading for pleasure is no longer a top priority for many students, there’s still hope. Whether it’s through audiobooks, graphic novels, or a good old-fashioned paperback, the key may be helping students rediscover what makes reading enjoyable, not just educational.
As Grigas said, “Getting lost in a great book is fun.” But with so many competing distractions, it may take effort and intention to make reading a regular part of life again.
