New study reveals that half of UK adults ‘don’t read’ regularly

Nearly a quarter of people between the ages of 16 and 24 have never been regular readers

A new study by The Reading Agency has shed light on the nation’s current reading habits, revealing that half of UK adults do not regularly read.

In addition to this, the survey suggested that 24 per cent of people between the ages of 16 and 24 have never been readers.

The research, conducted by the pro-reading charity, surveyed more than 2,000 “nationally representative” UK consumers.

The 50 per cent of adult respondents who say they do read regularly represents an 8 per cent decline from 2015, when 58 per cent of adults answered affirmatively to the same question.

According to the report, 15 per cent of adults claimed to never have read regularly for pleasure – while 35 per cent say they are former readers who have stopped doing so regularly. The full report can be read here.

Various factors have been linked with the decline of reading habits in the UK, including lack of time – which 33 per cent of people attributed to their reading dry spell – or being distracted by social media, cited by 20 per cent of respondents.

Twenty-eight per cent of adults say they struggle to focus for significant lengths of time while reading a book.

“Lack of time is the biggest barrier to UK adults reading more, which makes the summer holidays the perfect opportunity to take time out and read,” said Karen Napier, The Reading Agency’s CEO. “We would encourage anyone who hasn’t picked up a book or audiobook in a while, or who may have lost their confidence, to use this summer break to kickstart their reading habit.”

Reading rates are declining the UK (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The report also lists the benefits of regular reading, including improved mental health and wellbeing, improvement of sleep, improved concentration levels, improved empathic abilities (understanding and relating to other people’s feelings and experiences), and improved creativity.

The Reading Agency’s report puts forward a number of channels through which the nation can “reboot” its zeal for literature, with positive attitudes towards reading, and a desire to read, shared by the majority of people across all age groups.

Forty-one per cent of respondents report that they have been inspired to read something by a film or TV show.

Additional reports will be released by The Reading Agency in the coming months, putting a spotlight on the specific benefits of reading and diving deeper into the data collected for the new report.