The French are good readers, attached to books, but those under 25 are less so than other generations, according to a study published Wednesday by the National Book Center (CNL). A survey shows that 86% of French people “declare themselves to be readers”, including 24% who read “a lot”, 37% “medium” and 25% “little”. On the other hand, “the dropout among 15-24 year olds is accentuated”, indicates the CNL in a press release, “with a stable reading compared to 2021 (80% who declare themselves readers), but a sharp decline compared to 2019 (-12 pts)”.
The study is carried out every two years by the Ipsos institute and its results traditionally published before the opening of the Paris Book Festival, this year from April 21 to 23. For this fifth edition of the “French and reading barometer”, 1,002 people aged 15 and over were interviewed by telephone in January. Among this generation under 25 who have always known the Internet, screen time is the highest (4:09 a day) but reading time is not the least (41 minutes a day, compared to only 28 among 39-45 years old). Reading for studies is indeed counted.
“While the French still associate reading with many positive values, they must be helped to make time dedicated to books a sanctuary in their daily lives”, estimates the CNL, a public institution supporting the book industry. Those under 25 are the most adept at reading e-books. They are 52% to have practiced it in 2022 (15 points in two years), against 43% among 25-34 year olds or 31% among 35-49 year olds.
81% of respondents have bought at least one new book in 2022, 40% have bought a second-hand one (6 points in two years) and 82% have been lent or offered one. Their favorite points of sale are bookstores (73% of buyers, 3 points in two years) and large cultural stores (69%, 2 points). But websites are attracting more and more buyers (49%, 10 points).
