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To Read or Not to Read (Infographic)

Here’s a fun infographic on the state of reading in the US and it has a number of details I didn’t know.

For example, a third of high school graduates will never read a book again in their lives, and the same goes for 42% of college graduates. That last statistic is a little scary when you consider that 100% of college freshman had to have read a book (many, infact) before entering college/ What is it about college that sucks the fun out of reading?

Update:
So many errors have been pointed out with this infographic that I’ve decided to retroactively rename this post "Spot the errors". Have fun, and I’m sorry for posting such a crappy infographic, folks.

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Comments


Jimmy Suggs July 19, 2012 um 7:43 am

This infographic doesn’t seem to have any real sources or evidence to back up their "facts."

The only attributed source for the info is "bestessays.com," which is an online essay writing site. That alone gives me pause, but there’s also zero info on their site that explains where they got this info from. They may be presented in cartoon form with lovely fonts, but these facts may well be completely bogus. For example: "light from the screen of ebooks and tablets is dangerous for eyes of reader." According to who? What study? Who says this? First I’ve heard of it and I can find absolutely no info to back up this claim. Something just feels really off here.

Nate Hoffelder July 19, 2012 um 7:47 am

Thanks for pointing out the lack of references. I shouldn’t have posted this.

But I wouldn’t worry too much about the detail about the dangers from the effects of LCD screens on eyes. Everyone repeats it. I’ve never actually seen it proven, but it is a widely held belief.

Becki July 20, 2012 um 3:04 pm

If no one has proven that the light from LCD screens is dangerous, there can’t be a good reason to keep saying it just because "everyone repeats it." Reminds me of the rumors started in my area after a Walmart was built: everyone kept saying it was sinking into an abandoned coal mine, even swearing they saw cracks in the walls and entire departments had started sinking, but there was absolutely no ounce of fact to prove such a saying.

Sorry, my reference librarian balks at repeating anything unless I can find a reasonably legitimate source for a fact.


Richard Adin July 19, 2012 um 10:56 am

Interesting to me is the number of editorial errors in the inforgraphic. Makes me suspect the ability of the creator to actually understand the underlying statistical information from which conclusions were drawn. Sloppy editing often means sloppy fact gathering.

Nate Hoffelder July 19, 2012 um 11:47 am

Considering how fast and loose I am with my editing, gee, thanks. (kidding)


The Rodent July 19, 2012 um 11:18 am

Light from e-reader devices dangerous for the eyes!? What?


Doug July 19, 2012 um 1:18 pm

These statistics have been widely repeated on Teh Intartubes for a number of years, which of course transmutes them into fact. Some sites claim that the numbers come from a study by the (not exactly unbiased) Jenkins Group in 2003.

Some more recent data (2008) from the National Endowment for the Arts: "Reading on the Rise" (pdf) http://www.arts.gov/research/ReadingonRise.pdf — Note that unless otherwise indicated, in this survey "has read" means "has read during the year 2008", not "has ever read." Also, unless otherwise indicated, this survey is about pleasure-reading of literary works: novels and short stories (together categorized as "fiction"), poetry, and drama.


dorachild July 19, 2012 um 1:33 pm

"Requires access to the internet or computer to upload books" is also untrue for Kindles with 3 G. (Not all Kindle models have built in 3 G).

Likewise, all Kindle models (except the Kindle Fire) do not have lighted screens.


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