Kids are spending less time reading

Question

Over the years there has been a noticeable decline in kids reading books, and spending more time on their phones. "Fewer Americans are opening a book for fun each day, with reading for pleasure in the United States down 40% over the past 20 years, a new study finds." this quote from Dr. Raihan El-Naas, shows how there is a significant percent less reading then there was 20 years ago. This study made and effort to also show how lower income Americans are more effected by this, due to the lack of resources. 

   This is a big blow to the public school systems and America in general. This is because with the less reading it takes a toll on other things like well being, and literacy. there is a lot of good that reading provides, studies show that even 10 minutes of reading a day can improve well being. 

Answer 1

This claim is false/misleading. After reviewing  multiple articles, I found the original study cited in the claim, which was published in iScience. After analyzing all the data and comments from the researchers, it became clear the study does not support the claim that children are spending less time reading. In fact, the majority of participants in the research were not children at all :  67% were between the ages of 25 and 65, 17% were between 15-24 and 16% were 66 or older. The study does not primarily focus on children’s reading habits. Also, the study explicitly states that “ “reading with children has not changed over time” and that although daily reading with children is less common, it has remained stable. While some other articles suggest that children might be reading less, this specific claim misrepresents the cited article and research.

 Sources : 

https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(25)01549-4

Answer 2

The claim that children are spending less time reading is true. Pew Research Center wrote an article titled, Among many U.S. children, reading for fun has become less common, federal data shows. It goes in depth with the survey's findings showing that both 9 and 13 year olds daily reading habits "have dropped from nearly a decade ago and are at the lowest levels since at least the mid-1980s, according to a survey conducted in late 2019 and early 2020 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)." After exploring the NAEP source, the direct findings of the survey conclude that "In 2022, average reading scores were lower for both fourth- and eighth-grade students compared to 2019: scores were lower by 3 point at both grades. Average scores at both grades were not significantly different in comparison to the first reading assessment in 1992. "

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/11/12/among-many-u-s-children-reading-for-fun-has-become-less-common-federal-data-shows/

https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading/?grade=4

Answer 3

This post is misleading, and the claim is not supported by the information in the study. After viewing multiple sources, including the original published study, it is safe to say the claim that "Kids are spending less time reading" is untrue. The ABC article mentions the University College London and the University of Florida as research contributors, but the study examined a population beyond children and aimed to identify who reads for pleasure. When you look deeper into the iScience initial study, you can recognise that the information regarding children's reading only applies to adults reading with children or adolescents of 15-18 years.
Sources are embedded.