Article by: Ans Stork, Contributing Writer
Ten years ago, around elementary and middle school, I was an avid reader. I read books before bed ever since I learned to read, and as I got older, I found genres that piqued my interest. Now, I am a sophomore in college, working toward an English degree.
But what does that have to do with Gen Z and literacy skills?
As a member of Generation Z, I have seen teachers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram displaying their concern for their students when it comes to their literacy. I fell down a rabbit hole one night and discovered these teachers teach a wide variety of grades, from elementary to college level. I have seen teachers cry over their students’ inability to write five-sentence paragraphs, spell basic words and punctuate sentences.
The Statistics
According to the Walton Family Foundation and the Gallup 2025 Voices of Gen Z study provided by Forbes, 35% of Gen Z K-12 students say they don’t like reading, and another 43% (are you sure about this number? I see online 43%. Please double-check for accuracy) say they rarely or never read for fun. Reading scores on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress fell two points, on average, for fourth and eighth graders, upholding a steady decline in English that predates COVID-era disruptions. Several factors could explain this, like parents not investing in their children’s education, handing young kids technology early on, or new teaching methods that rely on technology. For the adults of the generation, like myself, the same study shows that only 17% say they “somewhat like” reading, with 35% of middle and high school Gen Z students saying the same. The Walton study reports that students who enjoy reading show a strong overall academic performance compared to those who don’t. This ultimately affects their performance in the workplace. Gallup workplace research shows that only 41% of employees strongly agree they have time to learn in their jobs. By the time students arrive at work, they’re already under-read.
Fortune writes that nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025. According to YouGov, Americans ages 18 to 29 read, on average, just 5.8 books in 2025.
Early in his career, Professor Timothy O’Malley of the University of Notre Dame used to assign 25 to 40 pages of reading per class. He notes that today, with that amount of reading, students will read AI summaries, missing the entire point of the assignment. He blames the lack of literacy on “scan-reading” that is taught in schools for standardized tests. But what else could be the problem?
The Answer Is…
There is no direct answer to Gen Z’s literacy downfall. There’s more than one issue on the table. Teachers online have said that when they ask their middle school students to write a five-sentence paragraph, they are met with blank stares. COVID-19 caused schools to shut down, some for an entire year, causing students to be pushed back academically and implementing a loose online school that did not have a system set up for cheating via the internet. Once schools opened back up, technology was heavily implemented in curricula, with blocks in place during tests to make cheating impossible. With the rise of AI, students are being told by social media influencers to use AI for their work.
Parents are also part of the problem. The new generation of parents aren’t invested in their children’s studies or even their own lives. An article from the Guardian titled, “‘It’s so boring”: Gen Z parents don’t like reading to their kids– and educators are worried,” wrote that a former elementary school teacher posed the question, “Why aren’t you reading aloud to your kids?” Responses ranged from “It’s so boring” to “I don’t have time.” Parents are giving their children technology at an early age, instead of stimulating their kids’ brains by teaching them their colors, objects and reading to them.
The Solution?
Bring back holding children back a grade. Another problem is the No Child Left Behind Act that was signed in 2002. Holding kids and their parents accountable for their grades may wake them up and help them push themselves to move to the next grade. Parenting is also something that, really, can’t be changed with a simple click of a button. People are going to do whatever they please, but the new generation can learn from the past’s mistakes.
Another way is to make reading fun again. The New York Times suggests reading groups in their article, “This is the Solution to America’s Literacy Crisis, and It’s a Lot of Fun.” Writer Peter Schmidt Schmidt?? tells readers that book clubs are popping up all over the United States, like the Silent Book Club, which has over 2,000 chapters across 68 countries. Even here on campus, we have the University of South Alabama Book Club.
Reading All Over the World
The statistics shown are from the United States. In some other countries, there isn’t a literacy issue. Finland makes reading a civic ritual by embedding it into family life from preschool onward. According to the Finnish Reading Centre, maternity and child health clinics create reading routines for families. In Iceland, they have a holiday tradition called Jólabókaflóð, meaning “Christmas book flood,” where friends and family exchange books and spend the night reading on Christmas Eve.
Since the sixth and eighth centuries, Japan has been writing books, and their popular comic-style books called manga get their origins from 12th-century scrolls and 19th-century comic art. Today, Japan has sustained a culture of books, and manga has become popular all over the globe.
Even though book clubs are popping up, the United States can still learn a thing or two from other countries around the world.
