Younger Americans' Reading Habits and Technology Use

Zickuhr, K., & Rainie, L. (2014, September 10). Younger americans' reading habits and technology use. Retrieved September 11, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/09/10/younger-americans-reading-habits-and-technology-use/

As I navigated through the Pew Research Center I found this very interesting article about the reading habits and technology use of teens and adults. As I read the article I was fascinated to see that there was a correlation between reading and technology use.  I noticed that technology partly increased within the younger generation of Americans because some used smartphones and tablets as a reading device or listened to audiobooks. According to the article, younger Americans are more likely to read than the older generation. The article also stated that 67 % Americans under the age of 30 are more likely to read a book using various formats on a weekly basis compared to 58% of Americans over the age of 30. The research also found that adults ages 50-64 are less likely to read a book on a weekly basis. I was surprised by this because even if the older generations aren’t into technology the can still read print books as opposed to the younger generations who use technology to read books. The authors also stated that in a survey conducted in January 2014 they found that, “while most adults in all age groups are reading print books, young adults have caught up to those in their thirties and forties in e-reading, with 37% of adults ages 18-29 reporting they have read an e-book in the past year.”  I believe this has a direct correlation with technology use because the recent generations have grown up with the internet and so therefore it is no surprise that the use of e-books among younger Americans is on the rise. For example, my three-year-old knows how to operate an iPad and an iPhone better than my parents do. In regards to technology use the research conducted found that younger Americans have embraced technology use as opposed to older adults. The article stated that 98% of Americans under the age of 30 used the internet and 90% of those internet users reported using social networking sites. The report also found that younger Americans have smartphones, tablets, or e-readers as opposed to older Americans.  This was no surprise to me because like I have mentioned before younger Americans have grown up with the internet as part of their everyday lives. Older Americans on the other hand have had to learn how to use technology and many are reluctant to use new technology because they are not comfortable with it. For example, my dad is 64 and used to have a very old flip phone until about 3 months ago when I finally convinced him to upgrade to an iPhone. He didn’t want to let go of his old phone because he was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to fully understand a new phone that was going to have a lot more features. Finally the article discussed the perceptions Americans had about the internet. It was a general consensus that Americans no matter the age group felt that the internet makes finding information much easier than it was in the past. All age groups also feel that they are capable of assessing their online information as good or bad. What really surprised me was that only younger Americans felt that there was a lot of useful information that was not found on the internet. I would have figured that it would be the older Americans that would feel this way.

Pew Reading Total For This Article: 6 pages 

My infographic can be located at:
https://infogr.am/younger_americans_reading_habits_and_technology_use_infographic