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At a glance
From the first phone swipe of the morning to the last scroll before bed, most adults spend the day consuming text. Emails, messages, news and social feeds fill many of the gaps between work and personal life. Reading has become constant, but also more fragmented.
What has declined is not exposure to words, but the leisure time and habit of sitting down and focusing on them. Reading for pleasure — fiction, long-form journalism, magazines read cover-to-cover — has quietly slipped out of daily life for many, replaced by faster, lighter forms of digital consumption.
A US survey found that the share of adults who read books for pleasure has dropped by almost 30 per cent over the two decades from 2003 to 2023.
That shift matters. Research from The Reading Agency in the UK shows that even small amounts of leisure reading are linked to better wellbeing. Adults who read for as little as half an hour a week report around a 20 per cent higher level of life satisfaction, along with greater feelings of comfort and joy.
The difference lies in how reading happens. Sitting with a book or long article asks the mind to slow down and follow a single line of thought. Cognitive researchers describe this as “deep reading”. It supports memory, comprehension and emotional awareness, allowing ideas to build and connect over time.
Scrolling works on a different logic. Feed-based platforms are designed for speed and constant switching. Research from Stanford shows that people who frequently jump between digital inputs struggle more with attention and working memory.
The decline in deep reading is not universal. In Singapore, a 2024 national reading study found that almost nine in ten adults read news, books or articles several times a week. In parts of Europe, reading remains similarly resilient. In Italy, 94 per cent of adults report having read a book in the past year, and in Germany, nearly 87 per cent.
For busy professionals, restoring deep reading does not require more time — just a different use of it. Here are three quick tips to get more reading (and its benefits) in.
1. Let reading close the day
Spending 10 minutes with a book or magazine before bed, rather than a phone, helps the mind slow down. Studies consistently link lower evening screen use with better sleep. Better sleep supports clear thinking, steadier moods and sound judgement the next day.
2. Read beyond the role requirements
Balance market reports and technical material with fiction, history or long-form journalism. Research shows that narrative reading strengthens empathy, perspective and judgement. These qualities sit behind good leadership, clearer communication and better decision-making at work.
3. Start simply
For those out of practice, physical newspapers and magazines are an easy way back in. Studies comparing print and digital reading show that people understand and remember more when text is read without alerts or links pulling attention.
