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

Members of Gen Z are more likely to identify as readers if books are folded into their social lives. FilippoBacci/E+ via Getty Images

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.