Shanghai Residents’ Preference for Literature and History Books
| The 2015 Shanghai Public Reading Survey shows that 68.4% residents prefer print books, and the Shanghai people prefer literature and history books The "Shanghai Public Reading Survey (2015)" was launched in January this year, and the final result was released recently. The Survey shows that there is a further decrease in the gap of times Shanghai people spent on digital reading and print reading. Experts believe that the change of the ways of reading reflects the reading status in reality. This survey sent out questionnaires in the whole city, with distinctions in age groups, and has acquired a comprehensive understanding of Shanghai residents’ reading status, behavior, needs, interests, methods and experiences. "Digital Reading" Has a Stronger Momentum The Shanghai residents still prefer print books, and most respondents believe that print books offer better reading results. Meanwhile, the time people spent on digital reading has a rapid rise. In the categories of books read, literature and history are Shanghai residents’ favorite. 68.4% of respondents prefer print books, believing that they can produce best reading results. Regarding the "most preferred" reading method, the traditional (print) way of reading still presents a huge advantage, but the percentage of people prefer "digital reading" is 3.52% higher than that of the last year. In the allocation of time, 42.2% people choose "digital reading < paper reading", which is only 5.45% higher than the 36.75% of people who choose "digital reading > paper reading". "In-depth and Light Readings" Go Hand in Hand The survey shows that more than half of the residents spend more than 30 minutes a day reading books, so "half an hour reading" has gradually become the mainstream. Meanwhile, the numbers of people in the fragmented reading group and in-depth reading group have both increased. Two trends have appeared in the time Shanghai residents spent on reading print books each day. On the one hand, there is an increase in fragmented reading (the rate of "15-minute reading" is increasing for three consecutive years, and this year is 18.46%). On the other hand, the rate of people spending more time on reading has also increased (the rate of more than 1 hour has increased to 20.06%). The appearance of these two contrary trends is related to the following factors in the Shanghai residents’ living environment: first, the fast-paced lifestyles and ways of working in the big city; second, the multiple changes in the information dissemination methods and the variety of reading channels; third, the government’s advocacy, guidance and propulsion for reading activities. Expenses on Books Are Increasing Year by Year The survey also shows that 60.41% Shanghai residents averagely read more than 4 books a year; residents aged over 18 read 6.517 books a year; and residents aged 7-18 read 11.165 books a year. These figures are all above the national average. 6% of the respondents spend over one thousand RMB a years on books. People prefer to buy books from online bookstores, which is 10.05% more than the respondents who buy books in physical bookstores. 70.87% of respondents have experiences in reading the digital version first before buying print books. There is a slow increase in the percentage of people willing to buy digital publications, but "only reading free digital publications" is still the mainstream. The Reporter's Notes: Digital Reading Is Not Light Reading In the "Internet +" era when digital reading technology has a constant development, regarding the two choices of digital reading and print reading, the gap between the feelings of reading is very obvious. Some people believe that while cell phones and other mobile terminals can offer readers convenience, they have also brought about the tendency of "light reading", "short reading" and "fast reading", and publishers need to comply. According to the survey report, regarding "the purposes of reading", the "need for in-depth reading" still ranks the first. The second "for collecting and preserving" and the third the "consideration for authoritative and academic value" have exchanged positions with last year. Obviously, the purposes, needs, qualities, effects, feelings and costs of reading are important criteria for readers to decide whether to choose print reading and the conditions under which to choose print reading. Readers' preference certainly tends towards convenience and fastness. We can predict that in the future reading survey report, the rate of digital reading will sooner or later go beyond that of print reading. However, these data do not encourage publishers to produce easily forgotten junk materials. On the contrary, nutritious in-depth reading simply changes to a different platform. Content is the king and will never goes out. |