We have been asking children and young people about their enjoyment of listening to audio formats since 2020. In 2024, we asked more than 37,000 8- to 18-year-olds who said they listened to audiobooks and podcasts in their free time about their attitudes and feelings about listening. In a year in which we saw the lowest levels of reading enjoyment since 2019, findings show that many children and young people continued to enjoy, and were inspired by, listening to audio.
Key findings
- 2 in 5 (42.3%) children and young people aged 8 to 18 told us they enjoyed listening to audio in their free time in 2024. This is a slight increase on levels of listening enjoyment in 2023 (39.4%).
- In 2024, a higher percentage of children and young people said they enjoyed listening than enjoyed reading in their free time (42.3% vs 34.6%). This is the first time that more enjoyed listening than reading since we first started asking about listening in 2020.
- Slightly more boys than girls told us they enjoyed listening to audio (43.4% vs 40.4%). This gender gap in listening enjoyment is much smaller than in reading (28.2% boys enjoyed reading in 2024 vs 40.5% girls) and writing (22.1% boys vs 34.6% girls).
- Almost 2 in 5 (37.5%) children and young people said listening to audio had sparked their interest in reading books. Compared with those who didn’t enjoy listening, more of those who enjoyed listening to audio also enjoyed reading in their free time (52.4% vs. 36.0%).
- 1 in 2 children and young people said listening to audio enabled them to better understand a story or subject (48.4%), made them use their imagination more than when watching videos (52.9%) and helped them relax or feel better when they were stressed or anxious (52.0%).
At a time when reading for enjoyment levels are at an all-time low, findings suggest that listening to audio formats, including audiobooks and podcasts, has the potential to support learning, wellbeing and reading engagement in many children and young people.