If you are ever inclined to think the cultural landscape is spiraling out of control into uncharted territory, it can be a grounding experience to stop and actually look at the headlines. And realize that some things really don’t change. Such as pundits pontificating that the novel is dead, or that people’s reading habits aren’t what they used to be “back in my day.”
ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway
Which brings us to the results of this year’s annual reading surveys in the UK and New Zealand.
Interestingly, it’s the UK survey that has grabbed the headlines I have seen. Which isn’t surprising, as its results might seem alarming. The central finding is one many of us will feel we relate to. Nearly half of adults in the UK say they struggle to read because of the interference of distractions. For younger adult (as opposed to Young Adult) readers, that figure rises to just over half.
Distractions and the Decline in Finishing Books
The second finding of interest is that people are struggling to finish books they start (a third of all adults and nearly half of younger ones). And the number of adults who say they read for pleasure has dropped from 58 percent to 53 percent in a ten-year period.
And the reasons behind these figures? It is easy to plug this into a narrative of shortened attention spans and a decrease in “deep reading.” And the survey does indeed show a reported increase in people struggling to focus. But the primary causes people give are not digital distraction but rather the more general struggle to find free time, but also the challenge of mental and physical health and life events. Broader concerns about reading and publishing are, of course, part of a larger conversation.
New Zealand Survey Offers a Different Perspective
It was only toward the end of the story on Shelf Awareness that I found reporting on the equivalent study in New Zealand. There, figures have remained relatively stable over an eight-year period. And the number of people who read a book in the previous year rose slightly to 87 percent. So not all doom and gloom as the headlines might suggest. But this survey did note that there had been a surprise fall from 87 percent to 82 percent in the number of the youngest adults who were reading. Which again runs counter to the narratives that social media might be driving new levels of engagement with books.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Center.
