Kids are reading websites, emails, more often than novels
Finally, a study has quantified a concern that parents and educators have often voiced: today’s kids are more likely to surf the web than pick up a novel. The findings on the literary shortcomings of Generation Text came from Britain’s National Literacy Trust, which examined the reading habits of kids aged nine to 14. The NLT found that less that only 42 per cent of boys and 48 per cent of girls read fiction more than once a month. But when it comes to “virtual reading,” the number is much higher, with nearly 60 per cent of boys and girls reading websites more than once a month, 45 per cent of boys and 59 per cent of girls reading emails, and 43 per cent of boys and 55 per cent of girls reading social networking sites in that time period. Magazines were also more popular than novels, which came in fifth place overall. Experts point to these reading habits as potentially detrimental to kids’ ability to concentrate and study.