We are currently facing a reading crisis. We are simultaneously adapting to a world of screens. So as the rates of reading go down and screen time goes up, it is important to ask if there’s a connection.

One demographic the reading crisis is impacting is children. The National Literacy Trust’s most recent report revealed that “just 1 in 3 (32.7%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 said that they enjoy reading in their spare time. This is the lowest level since we first asked the question in 2005.” (2025). This decline in reading corresponds with the incline in technology in daily life. However, correlation does not equal causation and there may be alternative factors. Similarly, the two can overlap, screens can combat the reading crisis when used for eReading.  

The National Literacy Trust’s annual report highlighted that “Only 1 in 6 (16.8%) young people read daily” (2025). This statistic does not strictly refer to books, the report found that “The most popular digital reading materials were direct messages (66.8%) and social media content (60.4%). 1 in 2 (50.1%) said they read websites” (The National Literacy Trust, 2025). Therefore, the statistic that 1 in 6 read daily is not representative of children reading books daily, print or digital. It is also worth noting that even in the children who are consuming fiction books, “1 in 5 (20.4%) read fiction digitally.” (The National Literacy Trust, 2025). This means that to some extent screens are playing a role in combatting the reading crisis. However, this exposure to screen time has a tangible impact on children entering education wherein 28% cannot “use books correctly” educators have reported seeing “swiping or tapping as with electronic devices” (Kindred Squared, 2026, p. 29). It is therefore fair to consider that the use of screens can combat the reading crisis, however they should be considered an addition and not an alternative.

This is particularly clear looking at The National Literacy trusts report that discusses the benefits of reading print, particularly fiction, when it comes to success in assessments as the children progress through school (2025). Although simultaneous research highlights that “reading digitally was more popular than reading in print among those with the lowest levels of reading enjoyment. Which indicates that digital formats can act as a gateway into reading for this group, and in turn, that failing to recognise or support this preference may risk undervaluing an essential part of the reading lives of children who already feel least connected to books.” (The National Literacy Trust, 2026). This suggests that whilst reading digitally is not as beneficial for the reader, having the option of reading digitally expands the demographic of readers. And thus combats the reading crisis by providing solutions.

It is therefore plausible to consider that screens can in fact contribute to and combat the literacy crisis. The evidence would suggest that the issue is not screens but the way in which they are used, the culture of reading and the way this overlap within the child’s environment. In summation, the use of screens has not been proven to definitively impact the reading crisis for better or worse – and can be used as a tool to encourage reading. However, if a child has access to both print and digital, evidence has suggested there are more benefits to reading print.

Bibliography

Garcia, A. (2025). BBC News. Pre-school children’s screen time at ‘crisis point’. [Online]. [Accessed 03/05/2026]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3lpgn5yjko.

Kindred Squared. (2026). School Readiness Survey 2025. [Online]. [Accessed 27/02/2026]. Available at: https://kindredsquared.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/School-Readiness-Survey-January-2026-Kindred-Squared.pdf.

The National Literacy Trust. (2025). Children and young people’s reading in Scotland in 2025. [Online]. [Accessed: 23/04/25]. Available at: https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/annual-literacy-survey/.  

The National Literacy Trust. (2026). What children and young people’s reading habits tell us about print and digital reading. [Online]. [Accessed: 03/05/2026]. Available at:https://literacytrust.org.uk/blog/what-children-and-young-peoples-reading-habits-tell-us-about-print-and-digital-reading/. 

Eirik Solheim. (2026). Unsplash. [Online]. [Accessed: 08/05/2026]. Available at: Assorted-color phone lot photo – Free Phone Image on Unsplash.