Reading

Digital bookworms — Pew finds more readership of e-books, mirroring the healthy increase in tablet computer, smartphone and e-reader sales.

According to the Pew Research Center’s latest survey of American adults (ages 16 and older), ownership of a tablet computer or an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook has grown substantially in the past year.

According to Pew’s year-over-year findings, ownership grew from ~18% in late 2011 to ~33% by late 2012.

[For those who are counting, tablet ownership increased from ~10% to ~25% of adults, while e-reader ownership rose a little slower, from a similar 10% level to about 19%.]

Based on these findings from Pew, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that e-book readership is also on the rise.

Other results in the Pew survey confirm this: The percent of U.S. adults who read an e-book within the past year is now ~23%, up from ~16% a year earlier.

Conversely, the proportion of printed book readers is declining; Pew finds that ~67% of adults read at least one printed book during the year, which is a drop from ~75% in late 2012 and ~78% in late 2011.

Who are most likely to be reading e-books? According to Pew, they’re the “usual suspects”: better-educated (college or greater); higher-income ($75,000+ annual household income); and folks who are in the 30-49 age range.

No significant differences were discerned in gender or racial segments, although the incidence of e-book readership skews somewhat higher among urban/suburban dwellers compared to those living in rural areas.

And there’s one other type of book platform with some degree of popularity among U.S. adults: ~13% of respondents reported that they had listened to at least one audio book over the course of the year.

Now to a fundamental question: Are we a nation of readers?

The answer to that question depends on your point of view, of course. Some people devour books all the time, while others will do anything they can to avoid reading a single one.

The Pew survey found that book readers tackled an average of 15 books across all “platforms” during the course of the year.

But the median number of books read was just six, leading one to conclude that some people are really, really voracious readers, and they drive the average much higher than the median figure.

Additional findings from the always-interesting Pew research in its invaluable Internet & American Life Project can be found here, for those who are interested in looking through more of the “entrails” …

E-readers have become the rage. That’s clear from how many people are now using them.

A Harris Interactive survey of ~2,180 consumers in July 2011 has found that ~15% of Americans over age 18 are using an e-reader device. That’s about double the percentage compared to last year’s poll.

Beyond this, another ~15% reported that they’re likely to buy one within the next six months.

The Harris research found some interesting regional differences in e-reader usage. I was quite surprised to learn that e-readers haven’t taken off nearly as strongly in the Midwest as compared to the other three regions of the country:

 Westerners: ~20% have an e-reader
 Easterners: ~19%
 Southerners: ~14%
 Midwesterners: ~9%

What are the characteristics of those who own e-readers, besides where they live? It turns out they’re far more active readers than the rest of the population.

For example, about one third of all survey respondents reported that they read more than 10 books during the year. But for those who own an e-reader, that percentage was nearly 60%.

And just because someone owns an e-reader doesn’t mean they’re stopped purchasing actual books. While one-third of all the survey respondents reported that they haven’t purchased any books in the past year … that percentage was only 6% of those who use e-readers.

The criticism commonly heard that e-readers may be the death knell for traditional books because cause people to download fewer books than they would purchase in physical form may not carry much weight, if the Harris survey results are to be believed.

On the contrary, the e-reader phenomenon appears to be making some people even more voracious readers than before. About one third of the e-reader respondents in the survey reported that they read more now than before – and not just on their e-readers.

Clearly, e-readers represent a phenomenon that’s taken firm hold and is here to stay. But whether it’s radically changing the reading habits of its users … that remains an open question. The early signs suggest “no.”

What about your experience? Have your habits changed with the advent of e-readers? How so?