The French are still good readers, but young people are less attracted to books

Do books always make you dream?

If the French are good readers, attached to books, the under 25s are less so than other generations, according to a study published this Wednesday, April 12 by the National Book Center (CNL).

A survey shows that 86% of French people "declare themselves to be readers", including 24% who read "a lot", 37% "moderately" and 25% "little".

On the other hand, “the dropout among 15-24 year olds is accentuated”, indicates the CNL in a press release, “with a stable reading compared to 2021 (80% who declare themselves readers), but a sharp decline compared to 2019 (-12 pts)”.

The study is carried out every two years by the Ipsos institute and its results traditionally published before the opening of the Paris Book Festival, this year from April 21 to 23.

For this fifth edition of the “French and reading barometer”, 1,002 people aged 15 and over were interviewed by telephone in January.

81% to have bought at least one new book in 2022

Among this generation under 25, born with the Internet, screen time is the highest (4h09 per day) but the time spent reading is higher than that of its elders (41 minutes per day, against only 28 for 39-45 year olds).

Reading for studies is indeed counted.

, we estimate at the CNL.

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Those under 25 are the most adept at reading digital books.

They are 52% to have practiced it in 2022 (+15 points in two years), against 43% among 25-34 year olds or 31% among 35-49 year olds.

The respondents are 81% to have bought at least one new book in 2022, 40% to have bought used (+6 points in two years) and 82% to have been lent or offered.

Their favorite points of sale are bookstores (73% of buyers, +3 points in two years) and large cultural stores (69%, +2 points).

But websites are attracting more and more buyers (49%, +10 points).