That headline finding comes from Kinder-Medien-Studie 2019 which took the pleasure pulse of 7.31 million German kids between 4-13 years old and lined up their media consumption habits.
That will be Germany, one of the richest nations in the world, where we can safely say the kids have every option available to them when it comes to leisure and pleasure.
Yet 76% read books, magazines, or comics several times a week.
The study, for the third time commissioned by Blue Ocean Entertainment, Egmont Ehapa, Gruner + Jahr, Panini, SPIEGEL-Verlag and Zeit Verlag, found that:
- 94% watch movies, TV shows or TV programs
- 90% listen to music, radio broadcasts, radio plays or audiobooks
- 76% read books, magazines or comics
In fact reading for pleasure reading with magazines, comics or books is increasing among the 6- to-13 year-olds from 71% in 2017 and 74% in 2018 to 76% in 2019.
The preference for paper and ink reading was clear in the numbers, with very little interest in digital reading shown.
But we must be careful not to read too much into that finding as we do not know how many children in these age groups have access to digital devices where they can access digital reading, nor how much material is digitally available and affordable compared to the print equivalent.
