Reading Makes People Feel Happier and Smarter, According to New Poll

Reading subscription service Scribd wants Americans to read more, and they've recently discovered that a vast majority of Americans would like to see that happen, too.

In late May, the company tasked The Harris Poll with conducting a survey on America's reading habits. They asked more than 2000 adults a variety of questions, such as: Does reading make you feel smarter? Does it enhance your well-being? How does reading compare to scrolling through social media? Among some of the poll's most interesting takeaways:

• The average person has four hours and 26 minutes of free time each week, but 81 percent of Americans do not read as much as they would like to. Instead of reading, Americans typically use that time to stream movies and/or TV shows (86 percent of people said they do this for a minimum of 15 minutes a day), perform chores (84 percent), and/or scroll through social media (74 percent).
• Of the individuals polled, 52 percent said they read for at least 15 minutes a day, but only 22 percent reported reading an hour or more a day; 35 percent said they wish they were reading more.
• It’s a fact that reading even just 15 pages a day comes with a host of benefits, including a more substantial knowledge base and a better vocabulary. When asked how they felt after reading, 55 percent of respondents said they felt more relaxed, 33 percent felt happier, and 32 percent felt smarter. In fact, 75 percent of those polled believe that people who read regularly are smarter than those who do not.
• Reading makes people feel more accomplished, too: 69 percent said they felt more accomplished after reading versus only 45 percent who felt that way after scrolling through social media.
• 55 percent of respondents said they only need to read for 15 minutes to feel like they've accomplished something. (Fun fact: People who read books for 30 minutes every day may live an average of 23 months longer than non-readers according to a 2016 study.)
• Social media can be a time sucker, but according to the poll, it might also be draining our intelligence. 32 percent of respondents said they felt smarter after reading while only 7 percent felt smarter after “reading” social media. 5 percent of people said reading was a waste of their time whereas a whopping 35 percent of people considered spending time on social media a waste of time.

Despite wanting to read more, people aren’t doing it enough: 39 percent of people said they don’t read because they don’t have enough time, while by 22 percent that said that "it’s easier to do other things"—like watching Netflix. For that latter group, Scribd recommends listening to audiobooks, which is better than not reading at all.