“It’s an activity that’s kind of like a wind down instead of being on my phone,” she says. “It’s a relaxing place that I can escape to.”  

Rose can often be found scanning her local library’s shelves for her next read.  

“I like to go for a good library trip often and have a browse,” she says.  

Rose is bucking a trend though.

A new report published by the United Kingdom’s National Literacy Trust discovered that daily reading levels are at the lowest level reported in more than 20 years, based on a survey from more than 80,000 young people.  

According to renowned industry body Australia Reads, this new research from the UK accurately reflects recent research conducted in Australia. 

Their research reveals that during the transition from primary to high school, daily reading levels decline significantly, particularly for boys.  

Teen reading researcher Leonie Rutherford says that it is essential to build consistent habits to maintain reading engagement for teens.   

“The adolescent years are fairly crucial in developmental trajectory for … forming habits of things that we do life long,” Dr Rutherford says.  

“I don’t think people are lost if they’ve taken a little bit of a break in adolescence from being a reader.

 “They may come back to it, but I think it’s important that there’s a reading habit if we want people to be lifelong readers.” 

Data from Australia Reads suggests that a lack of time is a significant factor in low daily reading levels, with 37 per cent of girls saying that would read more if they had more time to relax.  

“Nowadays, it’s a lot harder to schedule in time to read because there’s so much else to do as well,” Rose says.  

“You kind of get to the age where it seems almost embarrassing or it’s kind of seen as a bit silly. 

“There’s so many options these days like movies or TV or social media, that people just aren’t really turning to books anymore.” 

Dr Rutherford says the widespread availability of social media and peer pressure can have an influence on daily reading rates.  

“The more you are on social media, the less you read,” she says. “That’s a direct inverse correlation.”  

“In adolescence, there’s more likely to be peer culture that’s not supportive of reading.” 

Dr Rutherford suggests that creating a designated time and space for reading at home could be a way to boost teen reading engagement.  

“Have lots of books around to be chosen from and let your child see you reading,” she says. “Have half an hour, between homework and dinner where everybody reads.” 

According to Australia Reads, teens are most motivated to read when there’s a sense of choice and when the books fit into their current interests.  

Dr Rutherford says there is a lot of appreciation for books on social media that could be beneficial in helping teens find what to read.  

“Particularly on Instagram and TikTok, there’s a book-love sort of subculture,” she says. “Young people do get recommendations from there, particularly fantasy and romance.” 

Rose agrees that social media could be used to make reading more appealing for her peers.  

“Reading on social media could be advertised more as like a fun hobby,” she says.  

“You see all the crafting videos and the other things people are doing. Reading should be up there as well.  

“There’s lots of benefits to reading and I feel like more people my age should be reading, even if it’s just a little bit.”