pleasure

Put down the book, pick up the phone.

So it goes in the United States, where daily reading for pleasure has plummeted more than 40% among adults over the last two decades, according to a new study from the University of Florida and University College London.

From 2003 to 2023, daily leisure reading declined at a steady rate of about 3% per year, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal iScience .

“This decline is concerning given earlier evidence for downward trends in reading for pleasure from the 1940s through to the start of our study in 2003, suggesting at least 80 years of continued decline in reading for pleasure,” the paper states.

Jill Sonke, one of the study’s authors, said in an interview Tuesday that the decline is concerning in part because “we know that reading for pleasure, among other forms of arts participation, is a health behavior. It is associated with relaxation, well-being, mental health, quality of life.”

“We’re losing a low-hanging fruit in our health toolkit when we’re reading or participating in the arts less,” added Sonke, the director of research initiatives at the UF Center for Arts in Medicine and co-director of the university’s EpiArts Lab.

The reading decline comes as most Americans have more access to books than ever before. Because of Libby and other e-book apps, people do not need to travel to libraries or bookstores. They can check out books from multiple libraries and read them on their tablets or phones.

But other forms of digital media are crowding out the free moments that people could devote to books. More time spent scrolling dank memes and reels on social media or bingeing the “King of the Hill” reboot on Hulu means less time for the latest pick from Oprah’s Book Club.

But researchers say there are factors besides digital distraction at play, including a national decline in leisure time overall and uneven access to books and libraries.

The study analyzed data from 236,270 Americans age 15 and older who completed the American Time Use Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics between 2003 and 2023. [The year 2020 was excluded because data collection was briefly paused amid the COVID-19 pandemic.]

Participants were asked to provide granular detail of their activities beginning at 4 a.m. on the day prior to the interview and ending at 4 a.m. the day of the interview.

Researchers found that people who do read for pleasure are doing so for longer stretches of time — from 1 hour 23 minutes per day in 2003 to 1 hour 37 minutes per day in 2023.

But the percentage of Americans who leisure-read on a typical day has dropped from a high of 28% in 2004 to a low of 16% in 2023.

Researchers said there was an especially concerning disparity between Black and white Americans.

The percentage of Black adults who read for pleasure peaked at about 20% in 2004 and fell to about 9% in 2023. The percentage of white adults who picked up a book for fun peaked at about 29% in 2004 and dropped to roughly 18% in 2023.

The study showed that women read for fun more than men. And that people who live in rural areas had a slightly steeper drop in pleasure reading than urban denizens over the last two decades.

In rural places, people have less access not only to bookstores and libraries, but also reliable internet connections, which can contribute to different reading habits, Kate Laughlin, executive director of the Seattle-based Assn. for Rural and Small Libraries, said in an interview Tuesday.

Although there have been concerted national efforts to focus on literacy in children, less attention is paid to adults, especially in small towns, Laughlin said.

“When you say ‘reading for pleasure,’ you make the assumption that reading is pleasurable,” Laughlin said. “If someone struggles with the act of actually reading and interpreting the words, that’s not leisure; that feels like work.”

As rural America shifts away from the extraction-based industries that once defined it — such as logging, coal mining and fishing — adults struggling with basic literacy are trying to play catch-up with the digital literacy needed in the modern workforce, Laughlin said.

Rural librarians, she said, often see adults in their late 20s and older coming in not to read but to learn how to use a keyboard and mouse and set up their first email address so they can apply for work online.

According to the study, the percentage of adults reading to children has not declined over the last two decades. But “rates of engagement were surprisingly low, with only 2% of participants reading with children on the average day.”

Of the participants whose data the researchers analyzed, 21% had a child under 9 at home.

The low percentage of adults reading with kids “is concerning given that regular reading during childhood is a strong determinant of reading ability and engagement later in life,” the study read. “The low rates of reading with children may thus contribute to future declines in reading among adults.”

Researchers noted some limitations in their ability to interpret the data from the American Time Use Survey. Some pleasure reading might have been categorized, mistakenly, as digital activity, they wrote.

E-books were not included in the reading category until 2011, and audiobooks were not included until 2021.

From 2003 to 2006, reading the Bible and other religious texts was included in reading in personal interest — but was recategorized afterward and grouped with other participation in religious practice.

Further, reading on tablets, computers and smartphones was not explicitly included in examples, making it unclear whether survey participants included it as leisure reading or technology use.

“This may mean that we underestimated rates of total engagement, although … we expect any such misclassifications to have minimal effects on our findings,” they wrote.

A HUGE pleasure lake an hour from London features stunning art-deco diving boards – but they are not actually allowed to be used as swimming is banned.

Coate Water Country Park, in Swindon, features a diving platform that towers into the sky.

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Originally built in 1935, the structure now stands in the unused lake.

The park dates back to the 1820s, when it was first created as a feeder reservoir for the Wilts and Berks Canal.

However it didn’t take long before members of the local community saw it as a potential leisure retreat where they could enjoy fishing, boating and ice skating in the winter.

In the 1930s, the Borough Council transformed the park, adding new facilities including an art-deco style swimming pool and the diving platform.

But by 1958, swimming at Coate Water was deemed unsafe due to health and safety concerns and the diving platform was abandoned.

Over the decades the landmark fell into disrepair and the steps were blocked off to deter vandals and thrill-seekers.

Then in 2013, the platform received a Grade II status as one of only four surviving interwar concrete diving platforms in the UK, and the only one in a lake.

Elsewhere in the park there is some opportunity for water play though, thanks to a large splash park.

It that has recently undergone a £475,000 upgrade and is expected to reopen on May 23, with a sign at the site stating “get your bathing suits ready”.

The splash park has a sloped design to also accommodate wheelchair users.

It has interactive wet zones and a paddling pool.

A large car park is also located a short walk away, as well as Coate Water Cafe for refreshments.

A traditional pub – The Sun Inn – is close too, with casual dining, a beer garden and a kids’ play area.

For those who fancy a walk, there is a path that goes around Coate Water, ideal for dog walking or enjoying the sun.

A range of wildlife, including rare birds, can be spotted at the 56-acre park and barbeques can be hired.

Also, a popular outdoor attraction to reopen on UK’s largest lake – following shock closure last year.

Plus, with hiking, cycling, sightseeing, and more, Lake Windermere is the perfect staycation spot.

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The UK’s favourite amusement park has had a big new addition to its line-up this week, as one of its iconic attractions was officially unveiled with a new look – and a brand new name

It’s been a bumper year for UK theme parks, with Universal Studios announcing its arrival and major new attractions popping up at Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. Closer to Greater Manchester, Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort has also been making waves, particularly this week with the grand reveal of its revamped and rebranded Launch Pad.

I was among the first to test the ride on Wednesday morning (May 7), just hours before it officially opened its doors to the public, writes the Manchester Evening News’s Adam Maidment. It’s a heart-pounding adrenaline rush as riders are catapulted 210ft into the air at a blistering 80mph.

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A word of advice – keep breakfast light before hopping on. If you’re a regular at Pleasure Beach Resort, you might already be acquainted with Launch Pad, albeit under a different guise.

Since its debut in 1997, it’s gone through several name changes – starting life as Playstation: The Ride and later becoming known as Tango Ice Blast and then simply Ice Blast.

But 28 years after its initial unveiling, bosses told me on opening day that it’s been given a ‘new lease of life’. In fact, it’s undergone such a transformation that it’s best considered a brand new ride.

There’s a fresh theme, vibrant new colours, a catchy new soundtrack and even a new cylinder. Diving into the mechanics without getting bogged down in jargon, the thrill of the ride is largely due to the pressure cylinder operating at a whopping 105 PSI, exerting a force of 105 pounds.

Karl Murphy, Pleasure Beach Resort’s engineering director, has previously remarked: “We’ve increased the force, which means the acceleration is greater.”

As someone who’d never experienced the ride’s earlier incarnations, I was essentially going in blind, save for the anticipation of being catapulted skywards. Its longstanding popularity hinted at an extraordinary experience awaiting.

The ride’s space theme is a perfect match, easily conjuring images of being aboard a rocket about to blast off. A brief countdown from mission control and suddenly, it’s lift-off time.

The immediate surge of speed is electrifying, prompting involuntary shouts of excitement (or terror). The sensation of the G-force is palpable, offering a taste of astronaut life without leaving Earth.

And if you manage to regain your composure while suspended 210ft high, do take a moment to appreciate Blackpool’s beauty on a clear day – the sandy stretches, the iconic Tower, and the expansive views are truly breathtaking.

The new attraction may be brief, but it is so engaging that you’ll likely fancy multiple rides if the queues are manageable.

Beyond Launch Pad, visitors can enjoy other attractions such as Valhalla, previously crowned the best water ride in Europe, and the legendary The Big One roller coaster which, at 213 feet tall, has endured admirably for 31 years.

Pleasure Beach Resort recently refreshed Valhalla two years ago – a move that has seen it reclaim its title as the best water ride in Europe – and is maintaining its momentum by updating classic attractions, with River Caves next in line.

At the Launch Pad debut gathering, Pleasure Beach Resort CEO Amanda Thompson OBE underscored the significance of these revitalisations: “Re-imaginings like this one are fantastic for our industry. Not only do they create a new and incredibly powerful ride experience, they’re sustainable, and they allow us to re-invent beloved attractions for generations to come.”

Even to newcomers who missed the ride’s earlier versions, the care and investment poured into reimagining Launch Pad is evident; the attraction has been reborn with abundant new features that almost render it a brand-new experience.

Pleasure Beach Resort is certainly pulling out all the stops to maintain its standing as one of the top theme parks in the UK, and perhaps even further afield.

They’re also gearing up to unveil a brand-new Gyro Swing next year, with a hefty price tag of £8.72m, set to be the largest of its kind on these shores.

You’d do well to add Launch Pad to your itinerary for your next jaunt to Pleasure Beach Resort – it’s sure to sweep away the cobwebs.