Young people who engage less with reading prefer screens, says NLT report

Print is still the preferred medium for young people but digital formats are growing in popularity amongst those who engage less with reading, according to a new report.

According to ‘Children, Young People and Digital Reading’, compiled by the National Literacy Trust (NLT) for the Publishers Association (PA), children and teenagers aged 9-18 predominantly read print but those who have a low reading engagement are more likely to read on a screen than their more confident peers.

Report author Irene Picton said: “Our findings suggest that offering children and young people the opportunity to read not just a wide range of materials, but the chance to access these through different formats, may hold benefits not just for those children less engaged by print reading but potentially for all readers.”

Boys with the lowest levels of reading engagement are more likely to read a range of materials on screen compared with boys who are more engaged readers. For example, 25.4% of disengaged boy readers read fiction on screens compared to 9.8% of their more engaged peers.

In addition, pupils that receive free school meals are also more likely to read on a screen. One in four said they read fiction on screen compared to 16.3% of those who don’t receive free school meals.

Confidence also comes into play with 23% of those with a low reading confidence reading materials on screen compared to 15% of those with a high reading confidence.

More of the young people surveyed read fiction (54.6%), non-fiction (45%), comics (27.3%), magazines (31.3%) and poems (21.5%) on paper rather than on screen. However, song lyrics were more likely to be read on a screen (chosen by 56.1%) of respondents, as was news (32.1%).

Older readers (aged 14-18) are more likely to use screens than those aged 8-14, regardless of the material.

Similar percentages of boys and girls say they read either on paper only or on a screen only but many young people who read above the level expected for their age read fiction both in print and on screen compared with those who read below the expected level (23.8% vs 12.9%).

The PA said the report, which was compiled using data from the NLT’s Annual Literacy Survey of 56,905 children and young people (aged 9-18), conducted between January and March 2019, supports the Axe the Reading Tax campaign to remove VAT on digital publications.

PA c.e.o. Stephen Lotinga said: “This new research demonstrates the importance of digital reading as a vital part of developing reading attainment and enthusiasm in young people. It makes no sense that while print books are rightly VAT zero-rated, their digital equivalents are not. Digital VAT is blocking literacy at a time we should be doing everything possible to encourage reading and learning across all formats. That is why we are asking MPs to back the Axe the Reading Tax campaign and call on the Chancellor to act in the Autumn Budget.”