Young people come into contact with reading books late – reading aloud helps

Nowadays, young people come into contact with reading books later than in the past. This is the conclusion of the study “Do you want a book! – How young people today find and buy books”, which was presented on Thursday during the Leipzig Book Fair. The research was conducted on behalf of the German Book Trade Association and the Working Group of Youth Book Publishers at Consumer Panel Services GfK.

For example, reading to 77 percent of today’s 20- to 29-year-old readers, by adults, has inspired them to read books. Among 10 to 15-year-old readers this is only 67 percent.

Printed books remain the most commonly used format. 97 percent of 10 to 19 year olds and 96 percent of 20 to 29 year olds read books in this format. E-books and audiobooks are also used, where the differences between age groups are more apparent.

Spending on the purchase of children’s and youth books increased by 7.4 percent between 2019 and 2023 to 672 million euros. When it comes to self-purchases and gift books for young people, spending on the target group of 19-year-olds and under has increased by around 32 percent during this period.

Peter Kraus vom Cleff, general manager of the Börsenverein, spoke in a statement about the need for action. “The fact that young people are now finding books to read later shows that we need a strong offer to promote reading both outside the parental home and in front of the parental home.”

Moreover, a political strategy is necessary “to counter the gradual deterioration of the educational situation in Germany”.

(sda/dpa)