The last two years have not been favorable for reading in Ukraine, but the war has changed each of us, as well as the reality in which we live. Did people read more books? Did the ban on the import of books in the Russian language affect reading habits, and was the opening of new bookstores a cause or effect of the increase in the readership? AI “FAKT” will provide answers to these questions in its research.
Analyzing many open sources of information, we can confidently say that the topic of “reading vulnerability” is extremely relevant, because research analysis “Reading in wartime”, fewer and fewer Ukrainians read books.
Currently, the world is witnessing a trend towards the construction of private prisons, and the prison industry should require careful planning. How is the number of prisons determined for the future? Very simply, according to a certain algorithm, the percentage of 10- and 11-year-old children who do not read is calculated. Of course, there is no direct dependence in this, it cannot be said that there is no crime in an educated society. However, the relationship between these factors exists, and it is worth thinking about.
How many Ukrainians are willing to spend their free time reading books
According to the survey, reading ranks fifth in the list of leisure activities: 11% of the population read every day, 17% – several times a week, 20% – several times a month, 21% – several times a year and 31% – do not read .
The first place in the list of ways of spending leisure time of the respondents is occupied by television (58%), the second and third place – reading mass media, including online media and activity in social networks (31% and 30%, respectively); fourth place – radio (22%), followed by reading books (23%) and reading books on the Internet (23%).
Psychologists claim that this situation is normal and there is no need to panic, that something is wrong with Ukrainians, because people (and not only Ukrainians) prefer smartphones, TV and social networks, because they are a more accessible and easy source of information than books or print media. However, gadgets only entertain, not make you think. This is an exciting factor, because in most cases people even now prefer simple and primitive, and this is a global trend.
If you look at Americans, the average American watches TV for about 2-3 hours a day. As for printed books, 56% of respondents have not read a single book in the last year.
In terms of gender, women read books more than men and they prefer printed books also more than men. The most popular genres among female readers are classics, psychology and novels. A third of women read these genres in the past year, and the most popular genre among men is contemporary crime fiction and fantasy.
However, all the same, the gap between regular reading and regular viewing of social networks and TV has narrowed somewhat, the number of regular readers is slowly increasing, although more often this happens not at the expense of those who did not read and started, but thanks to those who began to read more actively.
Analytical data indicate that more than a third of Ukrainians do not read books and will not do so. However, 8% of those who read books every day rose to 17% (!) along with those who read several times a week (19%), they make up 36% of regular readers.
The reasons for the growth of this indicator are related to the increase in free time, in particular due to unemployment and constant power outages during the war in Ukraine. However, the psychotherapeutic effect of the book cannot be ruled out, but we will talk about this later.
Questions of the Ukrainian language for readers
The status of the Ukrainian language is growing, and the number of people who consciously choose the Ukrainian language for reading has exceeded all indicators for the last decade.
First, 60% of respondents said that they speak Ukrainian at home and 67% in public places, which indicates a growing positive image of the Ukrainian language and a decrease in loyalty to Russian. The situation is opposite with the Russian language, which is used by 13% of respondents, and in public places – by 3% less. 22% of respondents use both languages at home, while 5% use other languages (including Surzhik).
Secondly, 54% of all respondents aged 16-59 choose the Ukrainian language for reading. The share of those who choose Russian for reading has almost tripled since 2018 – from 28% to 10%. The share of those who don’t care what language to read in has decreased not so sharply – from 45% to 36%. However, even considering this situation and the adoption of the law banning the import and distribution of Russian-language literature, the share of books read in Ukrainian among the population aged 16 and older does not inspire much optimism. The majority (57%) of people still read printed books in both Ukrainian and Russian, while a minority read or listen to e-books and audiobooks.
Popular books that are read
Among the most active readers, that is, those who were asked to name the last book read/listened to, the most popular author was Stephen King, Dan Brown, Gregory David Roberts, Margaret Mitchell, Agatha Christie, Joan Rowling. This list also included Mikhail Bulgakov, Leo Tolstoy and Valentin Pikul.
Among Ukrainian writers, Lesya Ukrainka and Taras Shevchenko are the easiest to remember, but among modern writers, only Kuzma Skryabin is mentioned most often.
The study cannot explain why readers focus on these authors and why modern Ukrainian literature remains invisible to the Ukrainian reader, which poses a problem for the formation of state policy in the cultural sphere.
Where readers find books
The surveyed readers most often bought a new book or took it from their own library – 20 and 21%, respectively. Consequently, public libraries are not a prominent place of access to books.
The survey also shows that the popularity of libraries is decreasing – from 15% in 2018 to 7% in 2023. This is due to the fact that, according to the Ukrainian Institute of Books, 52% of the books in Ukrainian libraries were published before 1991, and insufficient funds are allocated to fund replenishment. In addition, during the Russian occupation, about 500 libraries were destroyed or damaged, and the funds that survived were taken away.
Books and children
Photo/IA “FACT”
Children and teenagers are becoming less and less interested in reading, because instead, they prefer other entertainment with the use of new technologies. Such trends cause concern among many parents, teachers and cultural figures. One reason for this may be a general reduction in the amount of time children spend in traditional forms of reading due to preoccupation with school and extracurricular activities. Instead of diversifying their time with a book in hand, children are more likely to spend their time on social media, video games and other digital entertainment.
In addition, most children and teenagers consider reading to be a purely boring activity compared to other, more exciting forms of entertainment. Unfortunately, the war also did not motivate children to read. In particular, not all parents can afford to buy books at an expensive price. However, the share of children listening to audiobooks doubled (from 7% in 2020 to 14% in 2023), and the share of children reading doubled from 16% in 2020 to 27% in 2023.
Place of books abroad
The GfK Group, a consumer sentiment research company, published the results of a survey on reading habits in various countries around the world, and the results showed that China is the country where people read the most.
The online survey involved 22,000 readers aged 15 and over from 17 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Great Britain, USA and Japan.
According to the survey, 30% of participants read books every day, and 29% – at least once a week. 17% read once a month, and 18% – less often.
On the other hand, 6% of respondents said that they never read books. Regionally, China leads the way in terms of the number of people who read books every day (36%), followed by Spain and Great Britain (32% each), the United States and Italy (30% each).
The Netherlands and South Korea have the highest proportion of people who say they don’t read books. High-income families are more likely to read books than low-income families. Women are also more active readers than men.
Instead, the statistical service of the European Union published a list of the most reading countries among the EU: in the Baltic countries, people read books for an average of 13 minutes a day, in second place – Poland and Finland, where people read books for an average of 12 minutes a day, citizens of Hungary read books 10 minutes, and in Greece – 9 minutes. Turks, Luxembourgers and Germans read books for about 7 minutes a day. Citizens of Romania, Austria and Italy read 5 minutes a day. French citizens spend the least amount of time reading – 2 minutes a day.
At the same time, 10% of Turkish citizens call reading one of the main leisure activities. The same applies to 16.8% of Finns and 16.4% of Poles.
The necessity of reading books for society
From time to time, people wonder why reading books is important because there are so many other things to do in your free time. There are many reasons why books are important to people:
- Reading is fundamental to functioning in modern society. In some parts of the world, many adults cannot read well enough to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle and this is a scary situation. Lacking reading skills, they cannot fill out forms, read road signs and warning signs without help. Even using geographic maps becomes difficult for them, so everyday life, which is normal for many people, becomes a source of frustration, anger and fear.
- Reading is a very important skill for getting a high-skilled job. It is necessary to read a lot of special literature on the profession. Poor reading skills increase the time needed to understand and respond to professional activities, therefore, without good reading skills and understanding of information, a person’s activities and professional opportunities will be quite limited.
- Reading is important because it develops the mind. The brain is a muscle, and its development requires practice. Understanding what is written is a way of developing mental abilities. Teaching young children to read helps them develop language skills and learn to listen while taking in information. Everyone wants to talk, but few know how to listen, and a lack of listening skills can lead to serious misunderstandings and cause problems big and small, such as unemployment and marriage. Reading helps children (and adults) focus on what the interlocutor is saying.
Albert Einstein was once asked how we can make our children smarter. His answer was simple and wise. If you want your children to be smart, he said, read them stories. If you want them to be even smarter, read them even more fairy tales.
- Reading is a way of discovering new concepts, knowledge and information. Books are an excellent educational tool, they promote thinking, increase intelligence and outlook. Anyone who can read can study in any field that interests them. We live in an age of information overload, and reading is the main way to benefit from it.
- Reading develops imagination. Television and computer games have some positive value, but they are more like entertainment. Entertainment is not mental activity, but recreation. By reading, you can “travel” to any corner of the world, at any time. When reading fiction, you always want to know what will happen to the characters next, turn the page and find out how it will all end. There is a real drive in this. It forces you to learn new words, think differently, and keep moving forward. Reading is a pleasure in itself. Once you realize this, you will be on the way to constant reading.
In addition, reading books develops empathy in people, especially in children. It teaches them to empathize with heroes, which is very important in our aggressive environment.
- Reading is a factor in the development of adequate self-confidence. People who do not read often underestimate themselves and their abilities. They often feel that the world is against them. People who don’t read often feel lonely because others read and they don’t. Children who cannot read quickly enough to understand the content of a book often have problems with behavior in school and with academic subjects.
- Good reading skills improve spelling. Having learned to pronounce letters and words, it is easier to learn spelling. Reading also helps to replenish the vocabulary, because new words in the book are remembered for later use. Observing how words are used in different contexts can also provide a deeper understanding of how certain terms are used and what they mean.
- There is an old saying: “The pen is mightier than the sword.” Ideas expressed in written form changed the fate of people and nations for better or for worse, because the flow of ideas from books could not be stopped. We must read and study books to generate good ideas and identify bad ideas before they bring destruction or disappointment.
- Those who read are more prone to control in various ways to form their own point of view on certain situations and events. The power of written thoughts and words transmitted through reading is the main reason why some governments oppose free communication. People with dyslexia cannot research and think for themselves, so they have to rely only on what they are told.
- Finally, reading is important because language (oral or written) is the “brick” of life. You are literally the product of the words you hear and read about yourself. The kind of person you will be in the future depends on the words you believe about yourself now. People, families, relationships and even nations are built on words. Think about it.
- Information always has a price, and the right information is priceless. In recent years, we have moved away from its scarcity and moved to an overabundance of it. With Google, the human race now produces as much information every two days as we produced from the beginning of our civilization until 2003. That’s something like five exabytes of information per day, if it’s measured in numbers. Now the task is not to find among the mass of this information what is actually necessary and useful, and this is exactly what books help.
So, the reading ability and the number of Ukrainians who read is not great, although it has a certain tendency to increase during the last years of the war. It is important to note that reading books is extremely important and beneficial. We wish all our readers not to miss the opportunity to pick up the book, as well as involve their children in it. Read, open new horizons and give yourself a magical and useful world of books!
