Scholastic study finds number of US kids who have read an ebook has almost double since 2010 to 46% from 25%, half of children ages 9-17 say they would read more books for fun if they had greater access to ebooks
Kendall Sinclair
NEW YORK
,
January 14, 2013
(press release)
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Overwhelmingly children who read ebooks still read primarily print books for fun;
Half of parents say their child does not spend enough time reading books that are not assigned for school
In the fourth edition of the Kids & Family Reading Report™ , a national survey released today, kids age 6-17 and their parents share their views on reading in the increasingly digital landscape and the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency and attitudes toward reading.
The study, a biannual report from Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and the Harrison Group, a leading marketing and strategic research consulting firm, reports that:
Findings reveal the potential for ebooks to motivate boys, who are more commonly known to be reluctant readers, to read more.
eBooks may also be the key to transition moderately frequent readers (defined as kids who read one to four days a week) to frequent readers (those who read five to seven days a week).
Even so, the love of and consistent use of print books is evident among kids, regardless of age.
"We are seeing that kids today are drawn to both print books and ebooks, yet ereading seems to offer an exciting opportunity to attract and motivate boys and reluctant readers to read more books," noted Francie Alexander, Chief Academic Officer, Scholastic. "While many parents express concern over the amount of time their child spends with technology, nearly half do not have a preference of format for their child’s books. The message is clear – parents want to encourage more reading, no matter the medium."
The report also notes that the gender gap in reading frequency and attitudes towards reading is narrowing; however, the narrowing of the gap is driven more by decreases among girls than it is by increases in boys.
"While highlighting opportunities, this report remains a call to action to stay focused on increasing reading frequency among our children because the more they read, the better readers they will become and the more they will love it and continue to read," continued Alexander. "Literacy is a critical doorway to success in both school and life, particularly as the digital world increases access to information. Our children need to gain the skills learned by reading, such as the ability to analyze, interpret and understand complex texts and to separate fact from opinion."
The study also looked at the influences that impact kids’ reading frequency, and parents ranked extremely high. The report found that having a reading role-model parent or a large book collection at home has a greater impact on kids’ reading frequency than does household income. Plus, building reading into kids’ daily schedules and regularly bringing home books for children positively impacts kids’ reading frequency.
Additional findings of note include:
The study was conducted by Scholastic and managed by Harrison Group, a YouGov Company. Survey data were collected by GfK, and the source of the survey sample of 1,074 pairs of children age 6-17 and their parents was GfK’s nationally representative KnowledgePanel®.
To download the Kids & Family Reading Report and access audio sound bites, visit www.scholastic.com/readingreport.
To learn more about Scholastic, visit our media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com. To learn about our global literacy campaign, visit www.scholastic.com/readeveryday.
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