Toronto, ON – Aug. 22, 2017 – New research on how Canadians spend their free time
A 2017 survey on Canadian leisure time and reading habits from industry non-profit BookNet Canada has found that among adults who had read a book in the previous year, 20% read digital books on their smartphones, which is a 6% increase over last year. This has mostly been at the expense of e-readers (used by 23% of Canadian readers), which is down by 5% since last year.
The survey, which is regularly conducted each winter, asked 750 respondents if they had read or listened to a book in the previous year — with 82% responding that they had — and which formats (print, audio, ebook) they consumed. The results also showed that those between the ages of 18 and 44 were more likely to have listened to an audiobook than read a print book or ebook. Audiobook use is about on par with ebooks for readers 45-54 and continues to decline with the older age brackets.
When it comes to leisure activities overall, the top five choices among the respondents, who were able to select up to two choices, were: browsing the internet (33%), spending time with family (32%), watching TV (31%), watching a movie (23%), and reading (22%), which is similar to results from the last three years.
More results from the leisure time study are available in our two blog posts, How Canadians are spending their free time and The reading habits of Canadians.
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BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, and libraries across the country.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise du Fonds du livre du Canada (FLC) pour ce projet.
Media Contact:
Zalina Alvi
Marketing & Communications Manager
BookNet Canada
zalvi@booknetcanada.ca
(416) 362-5057 x 2250
