📚 More nine-year-olds are reading books dailyMore nine-year-olds are reading books daily

• 39 percent of 9-year-olds read books or newspapers daily, the highest share since the measurements began in 2012.
• Daily reading is increasing among children aged 9 to 11 compared with the previous measurement in 2022.
• Fewer children in the 9–12 age group feel that they spend too little time reading.

The increase continues among the youngest

A report from the Swedish Media Authority, Ungar & medier 2025, shows that reading of books and newspapers is increasing among younger children. The shift in trend began in 2022 and has been reinforced in the latest measurement from 2024.

Among 9-year-olds, 39 percent now read books or newspapers daily. This is the highest share since the data collection began in 2012.

Reading of books and newspapers declined gradually from 2012 to 2020. In 2022, the trend reversed and daily reading increased in all age groups, though to varying degrees. In 2024, daily reading increased further among children between 9 and 11 years old. In the 12-and-up age group, the results are either at the same level as in 2022 or slightly lower. The earlier trend of declining daily reading has come to a halt.

Children are more satisfied with how much they read

Alongside the decline in reading between 2012 and 2020, the share of children and young people who themselves felt that they spend too little time reading books and newspapers increased. In the 9–12 age group, that trend reversed in 2022 at the same time as daily reading increased. This means that more children in the younger age group are both reading daily and are satisfied with how much they read.

AI chatbots are used for schoolwork

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Google Bard and Character.AI have been incorporated into the media routines of many young people. More than one in three young people aged 13–16 and more than one in two aged 17–18 use AI chatbots at least once a week.

When children and young people use AI chatbots, it is most often to get answers to questions of all kinds. Using them to summarize and write texts for school is also common. The utility-oriented use increases with age.

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