Overview

• Using American Time Use Survey data, the share of people who read for pleasure on a typical day fell from about 28% in 2004 to about 16% in 2023.
• The analysis covers 236,270 respondents age 15 and older from 2003–2023, with 2020 excluded due to a pandemic data interruption.
• Declines were steeper for Black adults, people with lower incomes or less education, and residents of rural areas, widening existing gaps.
• Adults reported reading with children on only about 2% of days, a level researchers say could undermine future literacy and engagement.
• Among those who do read, average time rose from roughly 1 hour 23 minutes to 1 hour 37 minutes, though changes in how e‑books and audiobooks were counted and possible misclassification of device reading may understate modern habits.