Reading Habits Among School Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey

Abstract

Reading is a crucial means of acquiring authentic knowledge and plays a significant role in the holistic development of individuals across all age groups. It not only enhances imagination but also improves writing, communication, and cognitive skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, school-going children were particularly affected, as schools, the primary source of cultivating reading habits, were closed. This disruption may have impacted children’s reading interests and practices. This article investigates the effects of the pandemic on children’s reading habits, including their interest in reading, preferred mediums, and other related factors. A Google Forms questionnaire was used to collect data from 247 students. The paper explores how reading habits were affected across different age groups and examines the shift from print to electronic reading mediums. Additionally, it assesses general reading habits and offers suggestions for promoting reading among children.