Are readers nerds?
ARE READERS NERDS?
Adrienne Schatz, Amy Panko, Kim Pierce, and Stephen Krashen
Reading Improvement 47 (3): 151-153, 2010
Some people think that readers are nerds, "book-worms" who don't get out much, don't do much, and are simply boring, dull people. The research, however, does not agree with this characterizaton. In fact, the results of a number of studies of adult readers show that readers are "active and social" (Bradshaw and Nichols, 2004).
Table 1 presents data originally published in1982, from Zill and Wingate (1990), comparing literature readers (those who reported reading "any creative writings, such as stories, poems, plays and the like" for the last 12 months), those who read any kind of a book or magazine, and those who reporting no reading. The results are remarkably consistent, with readers reporting being more active in all categories.
Table 1: Leisure Activities of Literature Readers, Non-Literature Readers, and Non-Readers (1982); adults 18 and older
LEISURE ACTIVITIES | literature readers | readers, not of literature | non-readers |
Amusements | |||
Play card, board games | 77% | 62% | 27% |
Attend movies | 75% | 59% | 25% |
Visit amusement park | 57% | 49% | 19% |
Attend sports events | 59% | 43% | 17% |
Exercise, Sports | |||
jog, exercise | 65% | 43% | 18% |
play sports | 48% | 36% | 14% |
camping, hiking | 43% | 34% | 14% |
Home-based activities | |||
Repari home, car | 66% | 60% | 28% |
Gardening | 69% | 53% | 34% |
Gourmet cooking | 38% | 22% | 8% |
Collect stamps, coins | 20% | 10% | 3% |
Charitable work | |||
Volunteer, charty work | 36% | 21% | 9% |
Cultural attendance | |||
Visit historic sites | 50% | 28% | 8% |
Go to zoo | 41% | 25% | 11% |
Visit museums | 32% | 15% | 4% |
Art & Crafts | |||
Weaving, needlework | 42% | 29% | 18% |
Pottery, ceramics | 17% | 9% | 3% |
Photography, video | 14% | 6% | 2% |
Painting, drawing, sculpture | 14% | 6% | 2% |
From: Zill and Winglee, table 2, page 15.
We cannot, however, conclude that reading is directly associated with being active and social. As Zill and Wingate point out, the amount of leisure reading done is also closely associated with education and affluence (for confirming data, see Bradshaw and Nichols, 2004). It may be the case that those who are more affluent have more time and money to
