In recent years, and particularly in education or publishing circles, you’ll have heard terms like “post-literate era” or “reading decline” thrown around. If so, you’ve likely noticed the conversation pick up since a 2025 study revealed just how far literacy and reading comprehension have fallen. Researchers at the University of Florida and University College London found this wasn’t a slow fade, but a sustained collapse, with reading for pleasure rates dropping by more than 40% over the last 20 years. At an education level, students, even at elite universities, have admitted to rarely, if ever, reading assigned texts the whole way through. That’s not to say the latter are better, but it’s the shift in general preference itself that’s worth paying attention to.