OC HIGH / STUDENT NEWS AND VIEWS : Who’s Reading?

Nine-year-olds are twice as likely to spend free time reading as 17-year-olds, according to the American Federation of Teachers. Only 42% of 17-year-olds are likely to read a book each week, while 86% of all 9-year-olds read every week.

One reason for the discrepancy is that parents are more likely to encourage younger children to read.

An increase in other activities and television watching may be the reason for the decline in teen years, the AFT study said. For example, 52% of all teen males said they were involved in sports at school or on local leagues. Teen females said they spent the most amount of “home time” on the telephone.