Below is a complimentary Demography Unplugged research note written by Hedgeye Demography analyst Neil Howe. Click here to learn more and subscribe.
|
The average number of books Americans read has dropped to its lowest level since at least 1990. The decline has been steepest among 55+ adults, who now read fewer books than younger adults. (Gallup) |
NH: In December, we covered a survey that found that the share of kids reading for fun has drastically fallen since the 1980s. (See “Fewer Kids Are Reading for Fun.”) Now a Gallup poll shows that American adults as well are reading fewer books every year.
In 1999, adults read an average of 18.5 books. By 2016, that number fell to 15.6. And in 2021, it dropped to 12.6.
This decline is not a reflection of fewer Americans reading. In 2016 and 2021, the share of adults who didn’t read a single book remained almost unchanged (18% vs. 17%).
Instead, Americans who do read are reading far less. In 2021, 27% of Americans read +11 books a year, a -8 percentage point drop from 2016.
Comparing the average number of books read from 2002-2016 to 2021, the declines become greater moving up the age ladder. 18- to 34-year-olds reported a decrease of -0.8 books, 35- to 54-year-olds -1.7, and those 55+ -4.7. I suspect older Americans reported the largest decline because they have more recently adopted digital entertainment.
According to an AARP poll, 58% of those 50+ used a streaming service weekly in 2020. That’s a rise of +14 percentage points from 2019.
A related driver is generational aging. Boomers and Xers are now rapidly growing as a share of all Americans 55+, and the Silent is rapidly declining. The Silent (born 1925-42) is the last generation of children who grew up before the presence of TVs in the home.
Early on, they developed a lifelong taste for serious reading. With Boomers, television entered the childhood world. With Xers, it was the companion who was always there--even when the parents weren't. Marshall McLuhan once said that the post-literate society would age in generationally. Now, perhaps, we're seeing it happen.
Over the last two years, the presence of video streaming has grown more dominant than ever. From the 2020 American Time Use Survey, we know that time spent watching television and movies increased more than any other activity for all age groups. (See “How Americans Passed Time During the Pandemic.“)
Why struggle through War and Peace when you can kick back and watch 41 seasons of Survivor?
| To view and search all NewsWires, reports, videos, and podcasts, visit Demography World. For help making full use of our archives, see this short tutorial. |
* * *
ABOUT NEIL HOWE
Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed bestselling author and speaker, he is the nation's leading thinker on today's generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America's future.
A historian, economist, and demographer, Howe is also a recognized authority on global aging, long-term fiscal policy, and migration. He is a senior associate to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., where he helps direct the CSIS Global Aging Initiative.
Howe has written over a dozen books on generations, demographic change, and fiscal policy, many of them with William Strauss. Howe and Strauss' first book, Generations is a history of America told as a sequence of generational biographies. Vice President Al Gore called it "the most stimulating book on American history that I have ever read" and sent a copy to every member of Congress. Newt Gingrich called it "an intellectual tour de force." Of their book, The Fourth Turning, The Boston Globe wrote, "If Howe and Strauss are right, they will take their place among the great American prophets."
Howe and Strauss originally coined the term "Millennial Generation" in 1991, and wrote the pioneering book on this generation, Millennials Rising. His work has been featured frequently in the media, including USA Today, CNN, the New York Times, and CBS' 60 Minutes.
Previously, with Peter G. Peterson, Howe co-authored On Borrowed Time, a pioneering call for budgetary reform and The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Howe received his B.A. at U.C. Berkeley and later earned graduate degrees in economics and history from Yale University.
