What the panic over Gen Z’s reading habits gets wrong

Despite dire warnings of a ‘postliterate’ generation, data suggests Gen Z is still reading – just in ways many traditional studies fail to capture.

By: Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State University and Rachel Noorda, Portland State University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: August 4, 2026

Words: 1,254

Last Updated: 2 weeks ago

By Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State University and Rachel Noorda, Portland State University

A trove of recent articles bemoan the collapse in recreational reading among younger Americans, with COVID-related reading declines, artificial intelligence and social media often described as causes.

But as the authors of “How Gen Z Discover and Consume Books,” we think many claims about Gen Z’s reading behaviors miss the mark.

Some long-standing, influential studies aren’t …

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