Quickie Survey Results: Have You Seen Young People Reading Ebooks?

I recently did a quickie poll on Twitter asking the following:

Q. Have you seen a young person reading a book on a digital device in the past year? (where a "young person" is teenager or younger)?

Approximately half of the respondents said yes:

Some of the comments:

"Have seen students read on phones, iPads and ereaders." - @stein_valerie

"As a teacher, I regularly us ebooks to engage reluctant readers - YA and Middle Grade. Adding a layer of technology like a tablet or ereader can give kids who don't see themselves as readers a reason to at least try to read. From there, it's up to the story to engage them and keep them reading until the end."

"My 7 year old asked for an e-reader for Christmas. An e-reader mind you, not an app or internet enabled tablet. She loves the 'magic' of getting new books instantly without leaving home. No down time between Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie, priceless."

"Yes, on books, tablets, computers and phones- not really kindled though that might be my area." - @mz_christie

"My 5 year old likes reading ebooks with dad when he is away on business, over Skype. They each have a copy of the book on an iPad and can turn pages together. But the kids don't read on their own on ebook devices (too expensive to allow unfettered access!)"

"Yes, if my own kids count and they are using my device (with books I downloaded for them.) They never ask if they can read on my Nook. I've never seen a child in the wild reading on a digital device. Playing games...yes. Reading, no."

"Hard to tell on the subway WHAT a child is doing on an iPad, but it seems to always be games. I still see kids with pbooks, though!"

"Handy for teens reading public domain works for school." - @bhalpin

Please note that results would probably differ for a general public survey. My Twitter followers are almost all readers themselves, including teachers and librarians.

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You can also see other current and past surveys in the Inkygirl Survey Archives.

Comments

[Katharine Swan]

I babysit for several families and the older (10- and 11-year-olds) kids in two of the families read ebooks. One might be partly my influence, as I helped her download Bluefire on her iPad and showed her how to get free classics, and I have shared some of my B&N ebooks with her as well... The other kid has an old iPhone from his parents and gets those free app cards at Starbucks -- a few times they have given away kids' books, and I think that is what got him started reading ebooks on his phone. I'm sure it's most common in households where not only reading is valued, but also where the parents (and kids) are technology savvy.

[:Donna]

I'm in Barnes and Noble very regularly, and I'm happy to say the kids there are handling and reading the real stuff---printed books with a cover and paper pages. Out in the wild, whenever I see a kid holding an electronic device---and this happens pretty much all the time---they are glued to it, generally playing games while walking and ignoring the parent they're with. Otherwise, there's incessant texting. Actually reading ebooks? Maybe there are those who do that during their quiet time or bed time, whenever that is.