Top 3 Reasons Young People Don't Read, and What to Do About It
A review of research on reading among young people.
You'll sometimes hear that young people read nothing but social media posts. It's believed that teenagers 'never come up' from their devices, immersing themselves in the virtual world more often than the real one.
According to data from the Ukrainian Book Institute, 66% of Ukrainian children read several times a week or more. Yet time with a book ranks only 11th among teenagers' most popular leisure activities.
Young people more often choose things like meeting up with friends (72%), chatting on messaging apps (63%), browsing social media (59%), and playing online games (41%). Why this happens, and how young people can be encouraged to read — the DeTalks team looked into it.
The State of Reading in Ukraine and the World
Ukraine
For its reading-level study in 2024, sociologists at the Ukrainian Book Institute surveyed 1,076 children and teens aged 6 to 17 across most regions of Ukraine, excluding the uncontrolled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as Crimea.
According to the results of the survey, 'the share of children who read books grew across every segment — daily, weekly, and monthly.' The percentage of daily readers, in particular, grew by 9%, while the share of those who don't touch a book at all dropped from 15% to 10% compared to 2023.
The US
The situation looks somewhat different in the United States, for instance. There, according to data from Mastermind Behavior Services, only 14% of 13-year-olds read daily in 2023. The overall trend among young people is also declining: 42% of college graduates don't pick up a book after finishing school.
According to a survey from the Pew Research Center, reading time among American students has also dropped — teens spend 75% more time on social media than reading books.
Europe
In European countries, according to data from the EU, the picture is reversed: in 2022, 60% of respondents aged 16 to 29 had read at least one book. This age group even read more than older generations.
The highest share of readers was in Luxembourg (75.2%), Denmark (72.1%), and Estonia (70.7%). The lowest was in Romania (29.5%), Cyprus (33.1%), and Italy (35.4%). By comparison, according to a study from the Ukrainian Book Institute, 63% of respondents in 2024 had read at least one title.
'Why Read When I Can Watch a Video?'
Video content is gradually replacing reading among young people. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok build a habit of taking in information quickly and effortlessly.
According to data from the Ukrainian Book Institute, 32% of Ukrainian children watch movies, shows, or YouTube videos every day, while 33% regularly watch various other shows.
The reason for this lies in the mechanics of digital attention. Social media and video platforms are designed to constantly stimulate the brain with new visual signals, music, or notifications. Reading, by contrast, feels like a slow, boring process, since it doesn't offer the instant emotional rewards young people get used to in the digital environment.
One step toward solving the problem is consciously limiting the flow of digital information. An approach like this helps restore the ability to concentrate and rediscover reading as a way to reset. For more on exactly how to build a 'digital detox,' see this article.
'I Was Forced to Read, So I Don't Like It Now'
For many children, reading in school isn't engaging. Students read not for pleasure, but to complete assignments — to write an analysis, describe characters, identify a work's central idea. So books start to become associated with tests and grades.
The problem lies in how attitudes toward reading form. When a child is told, for instance, 'Why not pick up a book instead of just sitting there?' that comes across as pressure, and the natural desire to read disappears.
At the same time, research from the National Endowment for the Arts shows that students who read for pleasure perform better in language arts, math, and science. And this is at a time when only 32% of the US population reads for pleasure.
In Ukraine, school literature appeals to only 33% of children. Meanwhile, 43% of respondents like their extracurricular reading assignments, and 73% like books they chose themselves. So to nurture a love of literature, one option is offering choice and letting kids read what genuinely interests them.
'I Don't Have Time'
School classes, clubs, extracurricular activities, and time with friends fill up most of a contemporary teenager's day. Under that kind of workload, students can't always organize their day to find even 15 minutes for a book. In fact, 29% of Ukrainian children in 2024 said they don't read because they 'have other things to do in their free time,' and another 14% said they 'don't have enough time.'
Teachers at Slovakia's Matej Bel University reached similar conclusions in their own study in 2019. After surveying 161 students, they found that children often don't read not just because of a packed schedule, but because they haven't developed a habit of making time for it. It all depends on environment: when adults don't model the behavior or support an interest in books, reading simply doesn't become part of the daily routine.
Researchers Bronislava Kasačová and Simoneta Babiaková divided teenagers into two groups. The first — 'those who don't read and aren't bothered by it' — meaning they 'aren't passive or lazy, but have other interests: sports, games, movies.' The second — 'those who don't read and are bothered by it,' because their families didn't pay attention to reading.
In the first case, children simply don't get around to picking up a book; in the second, they 'never have read and never will,' since they lack motivation. In both cases, the decisive factor isn't a lack of time, but a lack of proper support for this particular activity.
In fact, parents' role in fostering a love of reading may be the most important factor of all. Data from the Ukrainian Book Institute shows that children whose parents read are one and a half times more likely to pick up a book on their own.
Contemporary teenagers shouldn't be 'forced' or pressured into reading — that won't work. Instead, it's more effective to model the behavior, offer choice, and create conditions where books become a natural part of life. Young people read what genuinely excites them. In 2024, that meant sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary detective fiction, comics, thrillers, mystery, and horror. All it takes is nurturing that interest and helping them learn to put their devices down — then reading stops being an obligation and becomes a pleasure.