Scholastic hired Harrison Group to conduct their 2010 survey this spring on reading habits of kids ages 6 through 17. As you would expect, the older kids get, the more they spend leisure time online and with their cell phones rather than reading books for pleasure.
Kids love gadgets, and thus 57 percent “are interested in reading an ebook.” (But when queried about which type of device, typically only a third answered in the affirmative, so that 57 percent overall interest could be high.) A third “say they would read more books for fun if they had access to ebooks on an electronic device”–but any parent knows the disconnect between what kids say they would do and what they actually do! Meanwhile, most parents believe that electronic devices take away from time their kids spend reading, being physical, and engaging with family.
Six percent of the parents say they own a device used for reading, and 16 percent plan to buy one within the next year (remember that this was conducted in the spring).
Both the press release highlights and full report are available at the link below.
Scholastic site