Gen Z drop-offs: reading declines

Professors at American universities note that Generation Z students in colleges across the country struggle even with simple sentences. Students are forced to read texts aloud line by line and spend an entire semester analyzing a single paragraph to cope with academic workload. According to Fortune and YouGov, nearly half of Americans haven't read a single book; reading habits have declined by about 40% over the last decade, and young people aged 18–29 read only an average of 5.8 books per year. This decline is attributed to the pandemic, the rising popularity of TikTok and short videos, the use of AI summarizers, and the weakening of school curricula. As a result, graduates are left isolated and poorly prepared for real-world work, causing concern among educators and parents.

Context

A global decline in interest in books has been observed for several decades, particularly during the transition period from traditional learning materials to digital media.