31 Aug Scholastic Reading Report: Media Buzz and Insights
The Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report is a biennial national survey of parents’ and children’s reading attitudes and behaviors. Fluent Research recently conducted the eighth edition of the survey on behalf of Scholastic, and we are pleased to share that major media outlets have already picked up some of the report’s key findings.
On June 2, 2023, Psychology Today shared results from this research that demonstrated the strong link between reading frequency and emotional well-being. Teens who read less frequently were more likely than other teens to say that their emotional or mental health was worse compared to before the pandemic. In fact, the teens who read less often are more likely to report feeling anxious, depressed, and lonely than the teens who read more often.
On June 24, 2023, Alyssa Rosenberg of the Washington Post wrote an opinion piece about the decline in kids’ reading for fun. She cited data from Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report showing that 28% of children between ages 6-17 read 5-7 days a week, down from 37% in 2010. With this in mind, she offered some outstanding ways to encourage children to read, including giving kids the freedom to choose their own books. This last point is supported by data from the research, which found that more than 90% of kids say their favorite books and the books they are more likely to finish are the ones they have picked out themselves.
We’re thrilled to have conducted this impactful research on behalf of Scholastic and look forward to sharing more news coverage of the report as it becomes available. You can view the research results on Scholastic’s Kids & Family Reading Report website.