More than a third of UK adults have given up reading for pleasure, study finds

Social media distraction, lack of time and difficulty focusing are factors in the decline of leisure reading

Half of adults in the UK do not regularly read for pleasure, according to new survey data.

The study, commissioned by the charity the Reading Agency, saw 15% of adults reporting that they have never been regular readers, and 35% saying that they are lapsed readers, meaning that they used to read regularly for pleasure, but rarely or never do now.