England 'divided into readers and watchers'
By Hannah Richardson for the BBC
11 March 2014
England is suffering from a "worrying cultural divide" with poor adults much less likely to read books than their richer neighbours, a report says.
The country is divided into two nations, those who read weekly or daily, and those who prefer TV and DVDs, it says. It finds key links between an individual's social background and how likely they are to read. The research, from charity Booktrust, is based on a survey of 1,500 adults. The study found that on average, the richer someone's background, the more likely they are to read. Meanwhile a higher proportion of people from poorer backgrounds admitted they never read. Younger people, men and those with lower levels of qualifications are also less likely to be readers.
More than one in four (27%) of adults from the poorest socio-economic backgrounds said they never read books themselves, compared with just 13% of those from the richest socio-economic backgrounds. And more than six in 10 (62%) of those from the richest backgrounds said they read daily or weekly, compared with four in 10 (42%) of those from the poorest. "More frequent book readers tend to live in areas of lower deprivation with fewer children living in poverty, while respondents who never read books tend to live in areas of higher deprivation and more children living in poverty," the study says. It adds that adults from the highest socio-economic background own twice as many books on average as those from the lowest backgrounds (376 compared with 156). And 83% of adults from the richest group feel that reading improves their lives, compared with 72% of those from the poorest group. The report reveals that overall, significant minorities of adults have negative attitudes towards reading, with nearly a fifth (18%) saying they never read physical books and seven in 10 (71%) saying they never read e-books. More than one-third (36%) say they often start a book but get bored, while a similar proportion (35%) say they cannot find time to read. Almost half of those questioned (45%) said they prefer watching TV and DVDs to reading a novel.
The findings show many people, especially those under 30, think technology is changing how people read, and could even make physical books obsolete. More than half of adults (56%) said they think the internet and computers will replace books in the next 20 years, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of 18- to 30-year-olds stating this view. More than one-quarter of those surveyed said they would rather surf the internet and use social media than read - rising to 56% among 18- to 30-year-olds. The study concludes that, on average, people who read regularly are more satisfied with life, happier and more likely to feel their life is worthwhile. Around three-quarters (76%) of all adults questioned said reading improves their lives, while almost half (49%) enjoy reading books very much. More than one-quarter (28%) read every day, with a further 22% reading weekly. More than half own at least 50 books, with an adult owning around 200 on average, the report added. Viv Bird, chief executive of Booktrust, said: "This research indicates that frequent readers are more likely to be satisfied with life, happier and more successful in their professional lives. But there is a worrying cultural divide linked to deprivation. There will never be a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to social mobility, but reading plays an important role - more action is needed to support families."
[Sadly there are no great surprises here: older people read more than the young and reading increases with wealth and social class. Again it is frightening how many people never read. I come across this so much at work that I’ve stopped being astonished by it. Even those who do read do so rarely and seem to restrict themselves to a handful of ‘best-sellers’ advertised endlessly on TV. Of course in a way I contradict the above study in that I come from a solid working class background and, until comparatively late on, hardly read a word that I didn’t need to because of school. It was a chance event – a friend of my brother’s lending me a classic SF novel – that started me on my reading journey long before I became ‘middle class’. Oh, and finally I did chuckle to see that the average adult owns 200 books……]
4 comments:
It's sadly probably the same over here.
I too came from a working class family. I wouldn't say my folks were big readers. My dad did like to read Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey westerns. Can't really remember my mom reading much.
My doorway into reading was in my mid-teens probably and was also through sci-fi. I believe I was perusing a secondhand store and a Robert Heinlein paperback cover probably caught my eye.
I suppose that historically reading - and especially reading a lot - has always been a minority past time. For one thing until comparatively recently the working class had neither the time. energy or money to read much (or go back far enough and add the ability - or lack thereof - to read).
The thing that does surprise and sadden me is the sometimes pride filled comments you hear about people not reading. As if choosing not to read is some kind of achievement or something.... That does baffle me.
I honestly think that reading makes you a better person and gives you so much back for the time and effort you put into it.
Yeah, we get a lot of that anti-intellectual pride over here too. But maybe for different reasons. I think a substantial amount is caused by religion. If you read too much, some sense might just accidentally seep into one's head and you'll see how silly it all is.
CK said, "I honestly think that reading makes you a better person and gives you so much back for the time and effort you put into it." -- Could not agree more.
I think that reading for pleasure is seen at the very least as odd and probably elitist - especially if you read 'hard' books!
Reading is mostly described as boring and pointless. Yet I have been asked (usually in astonishment) "How do you know this stuff?" more than once - to which I reply: "Because I read books and remember things!"
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