One in three UK teens haven’t read a book in one year

One third of teenagers have not read a book in the past year, new research suggests.

With social media taking up more and more of an adolescent's time, just 16 percent of those aged between 17 and 18 read a book for pleasure every day, compared to 60 percent in the late 1970s, a study found, according to the Daily Mail report.

In addition, just two percent of 15- to- 16 year olds read a newspaper daily, a decrease of 31 percent from the early 1990s, the research adds.

Results further suggest social media use among teenagers increased from an average of one to two hours a day between 2006 and 2016.

Lead author Dr Jean Twenge, from San Diego State University, said: “Compared with previous generations, teens in the 2010s spent more time online and less time with traditional media, such as books, magazines and television. Time on digital media has displaced time once spent enjoying a book or watching TV.”

The researchers worry declining reading rates among teenagers will affect their performances at school due to them lacking the concentration to understand text books.

Taking a five- day break from Facebook reduces a person’s stress levels, research suggested in April 2018.

Abstaining from the social- media site lowers the amount of the stresshormone cortisol people produce, a study found.

Yet, the benefits may not be clear cut, with people reporting a reduced sense of wellbeing after not visiting the website for less than a week, with many being happy to check in again, the research adds.

Researchers believe quitting Facebook enables people to escape an overload of information but also cuts them off socially.

They wrote: “Our results suggest the typical Facebook user may occasionally find the large amount of social information available taxing and Facebook vacations could ameliorate this stress — at least in the short term.”

Results further suggest that while not visiting Facebook causes people's cortisol levels to reduce, they do not report feeling any less stressed.

Study author Eric Vanman said: “While participants in study showed an improvement in physiological stress by giving up Facebook, they also reported lower feelings of wellbeing.