Reading for Pleasure in Decline: New UK Report Highlights Trends

Researchers attribute the drop in voluntary reading to the UK school system’s persistent focus on literacy metrics, which they describe as “relentless” and “actively undermining” reading for pleasure, while digital screens increasingly compete for children’s attention.

The Guardian

• Daily reading for pleasure fell from 39 % (2012) to 25 % (2025) among 5-17-year-olds.

The Guardian

• Children who rarely or never read rose from 5 % to 15 % over the same period.

The Guardian

• For 5-10-year-olds, daily reading stayed at 32 % in 2025, down from 55 % in 2012.

The Guardian

• Among 14-17-year-olds, never-readers dropped from 36 % to 30 % (2024-2025) and the view that “books aren’t cool” fell from 45 % to 38 %.

The Guardian

• Screen preference fell from 76 % to 69 % and BookTok discovery rose from 23 % to 27 % for 14-17-year-olds; 71 % of parents of children under 13 want more reading, up from 65 % in 2019.

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HarperCollins consumer-insight director Alison David says the HarperCollins-NielsenIQ-Reading Agency study stresses that reading aloud beyond decoding remains vital for habit formation. It urges parents to read “often and anywhere” – in parks, on buses or during meals – and to turn everyday moments into book cues. The report also calls for tools that help parents separate literacy support from pleasure-reading encouragement.

The Guardian

The report flags a “fatalistic” parental view that some children will never enjoy reading and notes that a minority fear reading aloud will make children “lazy”. It argues that pressure to meet literacy benchmarks can suppress the social and enjoyable aspects of reading, undermining pleasure reading.

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• “Parents and schools both recognise that reading for pleasure matters, but their understandable focus on literacy skills is actively undermining it,” — Report authors

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• “who are read to daily are three times more likely to choose to read independently, daily, than if they are read to weekly by their parents,” — Alison David, HarperCollins

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• “Parents need to understand “the difference between literacy and reading for pleasure”, stated the report.” — Report

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• “Read to children when they are in the bath, or eating lunch. Make a den, put a blanket over a table and sit in there to read. Build excitement – talk about how excited you are to continue the story to find out what happens next.” — Alison David

The Guardian

Overall pleasure-reading rates have fallen, yet the data show modest gains among 11-17-year-olds (2024-2025) and a drop in never-readers among 14-17-year-old boys. The study provides no longitudinal evidence on whether the recommended parental practices will sustain higher reading rates, leaving a measurement gap.

The Guardian

The decline in voluntary reading may weaken cognitive development, empathy and long-term academic outcomes. Restoring reading for pleasure could counteract screen competition and foster lifelong engagement with books.

The Guardian