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Teen Read Week Survey
As
part of Teen Read Week that took place from October 12 through October 20, 2001,
SmartGirl and the American Library Association (A.L.A.) put out a survey asking
you all about reading. An
astonishing 2,809 of you responded to this survey!
The
first thing we asked was whether you were a boy or a girl.
While 132 people responded with “no answer,” over 61% of the
respondents were girls, and more than 37% were boys.
The average age of all respondents was right around 14 years old.
SmartGirl
users from 28 countries contributed to our Teen Read Week survey.
93% were from the United States, 2.8% were from Canada, and 2.2% were
from the United Kingdom. We also had SmartGirl users from countries like Israel,
Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Zimbabwe.
SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked, “What activity, subject, concept, or item are
you absolutely passionate about?” We
got all kinds of answers-but here are the top responses.
|
Statement
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Total*
|
|
Sports
|
15%
|
47%
|
27%
|
|
Reading
|
7%
|
5%
|
6%
|
|
Internet
|
1%
|
5%
|
3%
|
|
Art
Related
|
2%
|
1%
|
2%
|
|
Shopping
|
2%
|
0.3%
|
3%
|
|
Music
|
5%
|
2%
|
4%
|
|
Friends/Family
|
3%
|
1%
|
2%
|
|
Romance
|
4%
|
2%
|
3%
|
|
Religion
|
1%
|
0.3%
|
0.5%
|
|
Animals
|
1%
|
1%
|
4%
|
|
Theater
|
5%
|
1%
|
3%
|
|
TV/Movies
|
2%
|
1%
|
2%
|
|
School
|
2%
|
1%
|
2%
|
|
Writing
|
2%
|
0.4%
|
1%
|
|
Babysitting
|
0.4%
|
0.1%
|
0.3%
|
|
Many
Passions
|
36%
|
24%
|
32%
|
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Other
|
5%
|
8%
|
6%
|
*312
of you didn’t answer this question.
SmartGirl and A.L.A. then asked you, “Do you ever read about the thing or
things you're passionate about?” Here’s what you had to say:
|
Statement
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Total
|
|
Yes,
all of the time.
|
27%
|
24%
|
26%
|
|
Yes,
some of the time.
|
57%
|
56%
|
56%
|
|
No,
never.
|
9%
|
9%
|
9%
|
|
No
answer.
|
7%
|
11%
|
9%
|
SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked you to respond to a question about how
often you read. Here’s how you
answered.
|
Statement
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Total
|
|
I
read constantly for my own personal satisfaction, and I love it.
|
35%
|
17%
|
28%
|
|
I
don't have much time to read for pleasure, but I like to when I get the
chance.
|
41%
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40%
|
41%
|
|
I
only read what I'm supposed to for school.
|
13%
|
24%
|
17%
|
|
I
basically don't read books much at all.
|
5%
|
9%
|
5%
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No
answer.
|
6%
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10%
|
7%
|
We also asked you what the reason you most often read is.
Most SmartGirl users read because they like to!
Here’s a breakdown of how you answered.
|
Response
|
Frequency
|
Percentage
|
|
No
Answer
|
246
|
8.8
|
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Because
my parents encourage me to
|
103
|
3.7
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Just
for the fun of it
|
1149
|
40.9
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Because
I get bored and have nothing else to do
|
348
|
12.4
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Because
I have to for school
|
543
|
19.3
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To
learn new things on my own
|
276
|
9.8
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I
really don’t read much
|
144
|
5.1
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SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked, “If you don't read much or don't like reading,
why not? For example, do you not read because you don't have time, because you
think it's boring, because your friends might make fun of you, etc.?”
Here’s a breakdown of how you answered.
|
Response
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Total*
|
| No
time/too busy |
41.4%
|
29.8%
|
36.1%
|
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Boring/not
fun
|
29.3
|
39.3%
|
33.7%
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Can’t
get into the stories
|
6.3%
|
7.7%
|
6.9%
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Boys
are more interesting
|
.2%
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N/A
|
.1%
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Like
other activities better
|
7.8%
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11.1%
|
9.2%
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Too
much school work
|
5.5%
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1.4%
|
3.7%
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Makes
me tired/causes headaches
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1.9%
|
2.5%
|
2.2%
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I’m
not good at it (dyslexia, poor comprehension, etc.)
|
2.6%
|
4.3%
|
3.4%
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|
Video
games/television more interesting
|
1.8%
|
2.3%
|
2.0%
|
| Books
are too long |
1.2%
|
.9%
|
1.1%
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|
Friends
make fun of me
|
.4%
|
0%
|
.2%
|
|
Other
|
1.9%
|
.9%
|
1.5%
|
*Only
1,010 respondents answered this question
SmartGirl and A.L.A. then asked you, “If you don't read much or
don't like reading, why not?”
- “I
don't have as much time as I would like for reading. When I'm tired on
school days, I find it easier to relax watching TV. In the vacations I have
more time to read and I really enjoy it.” girl, age 16
- “I
don’t read because I never find the time for myself or set time
aside.”—girl, age 12
- “I
only read because I have to and because my parents encourage me to.”
boy, age 13
- “I
think the reason I don’t read is because I never run into a book good
enough to keep my attention.” boy, age 14
- “I
like to read, but it’s having the patience to make time for it that gets
in the way! Plus, a lot of the
books seem to be sci-fi these days, which I hate, so its also
availability.”—girl, age 14
- “I
don't really have time to read during school days and I don't really know
which books are worth reading.” girl, age 15
- “I
usually don't read because it gives me headaches trying to focus my eyes on
the words.” boy, age 14
- “I
do read, every so often, but the thing is I just don't the time for reading.
When I do actually get the time to sit down and read then I really get into
the book and don't want to do anything else.” girl, age 14
- “I don’t read because I am a visual learner so I find it hard
to learn with pages and pages of words. I like to see what I’m being
taught.” boy, age 17
- “I
am not a good reader.” girl, age 11
- “I
don't mind reading for myself but when school starts I don't like reading
anymore. School seems to have boring books to read. Most of the books that
I'm assigned to read have nothing to do with my profession. And I feel that
it's a waste of time. If I have to read something I feel that it should at
least offer me some type of helpful knowledge.” girl, age 16
- “If
I had more time to read, I would! But I don't have much free time to
read!” girl, age 13
- “I'm
more of an outdoors person and don't like to stay cooped up inside with a
book.” boy, age 13
SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked,
“How would you rate your reading level?”
|
Statement
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Girls
|
Boys
|
Total
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Advanced
- I like to read books meant for people in higher grade levels
|
46%
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37%
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43%
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Average
- I am comfortable reading books for people at my grade level
|
42%
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47%
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44%
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Below
Average - I can read books for my grade level, but sometimes have trouble
with the words
|
5%
|
7%
|
6%
|
|
No
answer.
|
6%
|
9%
|
7%
|
SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked, “Do you get good grades in
school?”
|
Statement
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
Total
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Yes,
I get excellent grades - I am in the top 10% of my class.
|
28.1%
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22.1%
|
25.8%
|
|
Yes,
I get good grades - I am in the top 25% of my class.
|
31.4%
|
27.4%
|
29.8%
|
|
I
do well in math and science and stuff like that, but not all that great in
my other classes.
|
3.8%
|
7.0%
|
5.0%
|
|
I
don't do well in math and science, but do great in most of my other
classes.
|
7.9%
|
4.7%
|
6.6%
|
|
I
get average grades.
|
19.5%
|
21.4%
|
20.2%
|
|
My
grades are below average.
|
1.0%
|
2.8%
|
1.7%
|
|
I
really don't want to answer this question.
|
3.1%
|
4.5%
|
3.7%
|
|
No
answer
|
5.3%
|
10.0%
|
7.1%
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SmartGirl and A.L.A. asked, “Which of the following do you read most often?”
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