New Study: “…Teens are Texting and Using Social Media Instead of Reading Books”

UPDATE: Also New Today: A Column for The Conversation/US by Professor Jean Twenge (Author of Research Article Discussed Below): “Why It Matters That Teens are Reading Less”
From The Washington Post:

A new study has alarming findings, but is probably not surprising to anyone who knows a teenager: High-schoolers today are texting, scrolling and using social media instead of reading books and magazines.
In their free time, American adolescents are cradling their devices hours each day rather than losing themselves in print or long-form media, according to research published Monday by the American Psychological Association.
In fact, 1 in 3 U.S. high school seniors did not read a book for pleasure in 2016. In the same time period, 82 percent of 12th-graders visited sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every day.
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The study, conducted by [Jean] Twenge and two colleagues at San Diego State, Gabrielle Martin and Brian Spitzberg, is based on data culled through a survey project called Monitoring the Future that has been ongoing since 1975. Run by researchers at the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institutes of Health, Monitoring the Future surveys high school students across the nation quizzing them on their career plans and drug use, among other things.

Read the Complete Article (approx. 1180 words)
See Also: Teens Today Spend More Time on Digital Media, Less Time Reading (via APA)
See Also: Monitoring the Future Website
See Also: Professor Jean Twenge’s Website

Filed under: Data Files, News