Reading for Pleasure Falling Among US Adults (And Furthermore‪)‬

Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of American adults now reading literature, according to a recent National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) survey. Reading at risk: A survey of literary reading in America reports drops in all groups studied, with the steepest rate of decline--28 percent--occurring in the youngest age groups. "This report documents a national crisis," Gioia said. "Reading develops a capacity for focused attention and imaginative growth that enriches both private and public life. The decline in reading among every segment of the adult population reflects a general collapse in advanced literacy. To lose this human capacity--and all the diverse benefits it fosters--impoverishes both cultural and civic life."