Survey in and around Kolkata shows most students in 17-24 age group read books only occasionally

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Crowd astatine  the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) 2026, successful  Kolkata connected  January 25, 2026.

Crowd astatine the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) 2026, successful Kolkata connected January 25, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI

While the publication just is connected successful Kolkata, astir apt to grounds much than 25 lakh visitors arsenic usual, a caller survey conducted successful and astir Kolkata showed astir students speechmaking books lone occasionally and spending much than 2 hours connected societal media.

According to the survey, conducted by the Kolkata-based Sabar Institute and the Sarojini Naidu College for Women, 35% of students successful the property radical 17-24 years work lone occasionally portion 25% sat with a publication daily. In the property radical 10-17 years, however, adjacent to 40% were speechmaking regular and 30% lone occasionally. In the 25-34 property group, arsenic galore arsenic 40.6% work lone occasionally and lone 18% daily.

The survey was conducted connected 4,311 samples crossed municipality and agrarian areas encompassing Kolkata and North 24 Parganas to recognize speechmaking habits successful the property of reels. Most respondents, 50%, were successful the 18-24 years property group, 14% successful the 10-17 bracket, and 31% were 25-34.

According to the Sabar Institute, successful the post-COVID-19, social-media-driven world, attraction spans were shrinking, particularly among students, and the thought down the survey was to research this displacement and to recognize the interaction of societal media connected speechmaking and, above, all, to bring speechmaking backmost to the centre of people’s lives.

As per the findings, successful the 18-24 property group, much females — implicit 40% — spent implicit 2 hours regular connected societal media compared to males, 36%. In the property radical 10-17 years, however, much boys — 33% — were recovered spending much that 2 hours connected societal media compared to girls, 31%.

The survey besides recovered much students than non-students spending much clip connected societal media. While implicit 35% of the students surveyed spent implicit 2 hours regular connected the telephone and astir 32% betwixt 1 and 2 hours, the aforesaid figures for non-student respondents were 30% and 29%.

“Screen clip has risen sharply successful caller years, particularly among young adults. COVID-related schoolhouse closures pushed acquisition online and dealt a superior stroke to speechmaking habits. Our survey shows that dense societal media usage (over 2 hours a day) and deficiency of casual entree to books stay large barriers to reading,” said Sabir Ahamed of Sabar Institute.

“The occupation is not the lack of libraries successful the city, but the lack of guided and welcoming speechmaking spaces. What young radical request are curated spaces wherever they are introduced to books, encouraged to work deeply, and supported to physique immersive speechmaking habits,” said Mr. Ahamed, whose inaugural Know Your Neighbour, which aims for communal harmony, precocious started the Chair for the Reader programme to sermon books, beforehand speechmaking unneurotic successful silence, and learning however to negociate integer distractions.

According to the survey, portion students loved to work fiction, lit and poesy the most, non-students preferred sports, amusement and fiction. Most males work sports, amusement and fabrication portion females showed greater involvement successful academics and literature.

Published - February 03, 2026 02:56 americium IST

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