2/1/2013
Nearly half of children and teens ages 9-17 (46%) read an e-book in 2012, up from 25% in 2010, according to Scholastic and the Harrison Group. Among those who haven’t read an e-book, 51% are interested in doing so, with girls expressing more interest than boys (57% vs. 46%).
Young e-book readers primarily use e-readers or tablets at home (75%), rather than at school (27%), at a friend’s house (15%), or at the library (13%). However, kids ages 6-8 are nearly twice as likely as those ages 9-11 to read e-books at school (34% vs. 19%).
Among parents and children who prefer e-books to print editions, convenience is the top reason. They also say interactive features, such as vocabulary definitions and narrators, enhance e-books.
At the same time, parents and children cite battery life and the inability to share titles with friends as key reasons print is preferable to digital. More than half of children (54%) also like the fact that e-books keep their friends from knowing what they are reading.
Among readers of both formats, traditional print books account for the majority of titles read (80%), while 16% say they read about half e-books and half print books, and 4% read mostly e-books. Similarly, 68% of parents of 6-8-year-olds prefer that their children read print books, though this preference decreases as their children age. By age 15-17, only 38% of parents prefer that their teens read mostly print titles. Furthermore, 54% of parents say a benefit of print over e-book is giving their children time away from technology.
Sources: Harrison Group, Jim Taylor, Futurist, Vice Chairman, 21 W. Main St., 5th Fl., Waterbury, CT 06702; 203-573-0400; jtaylor@harrisongroup.com; www.harrisongroup.com.
Scholastic Media, Francie Alexander, SVP Education, Chief Academic Officer, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012; 212-343-6100; falexander@scholastic.com; www.scholastic.com.
© 2013 Business Valuation Resources, LLC (BVR). May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.