The Atlantic’s new cover story about the end of reading is absolutely frightening. Here are 5 concerning facts from it: 1) 51% of adults read 0 books a year: According to the National Endowment for the Arts, which conducts the most comprehensive survey of the nation’s reading habits, fewer than half of all adults reported having read a book of any kind in 2022. 2) Reading for fun has gone from a mainstream hobby to a niche one: Americans who read for pleasure on any given day fell from 28 percent in 2004 to 16 percent in 2023. 3) Everyone is reading less: The decline in reading cuts across age groups, gender, and education levels. Even the demographics that traditionally read the most—retirees, women, and college graduates—have seen a collapse. 4) Books are getting simpler and shorter: New York Times best sellers today have sentences that are about one-third shorter than they were a century ago. 5) Kids are struggling to read and doing less of it: Fourth- and eighth-grade reading scores have slid for the past decade. From 1984 to 2025, the percentage of 13-year-olds who said they rarely or never read for fun rose from 8 to 29 percent. "Every year older a child gets, the less they like to read." For most of history, the biggest reading problem was illiteracy. People didn't know how to read books. But today the biggest problem is post-literacy. People know how to read books, but don't. A society that doesn't read loses more than just books. People lose the ability to think critically, focus deeply, and see life through multiple perspectives. The world needs you. Please consider picking up a book today. theatlantic.com/magazine/202…