New NEA Report | Reading at Risk

The National Endowment for the Arts has just released a new report which concludes there's a been a sharp decline in literary reading among the adult American population during the last 20 years. (Literary reading includes novels, short stories, plays, and poetry—reading associated with leisure time, not work or school.)

While all age groups have experienced a declining literary reading rate, those with higher education levels read more while the youngest age groups demonstrated the sharpest decline in reading. What's worse, the report concludes, the rate of decline is accelerating.

The NEA believes that a decline in literary reading will result in a corresponding decline in cultural values, including those of a well-read citizenry and strong democracy.

Among the report's ten major conclusions is that electronic media (the electronic culture of the Internet, video games, radios, CDs, and television) are partly to blame:

The decline in reading correlates with increased participation in a variety of electronic media, including the Internet, video games, and portable digital devices.

Some observers, however, have noted that a decline in literary reading may not mean a decline in reading in general. (See blog posting at Kairosnews.)