Americans don't read as much as they used to

American adults are not reading as much as they used to.
(Image credit: Kritchanut/iStock)

In 1982, nearly six in 10 American adults — 57 percent — reported having read at least one work of literature, like a novel, short story, play, or poetry collection, in the last 12 months. But as of 2015, only 43 percent can say the same:

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.