Original piece by Stylist’s Head of Brand, Susan Riley. Appears in Think Stylist, read the full article here.
Inspired by the National Year of Reading, Think Stylist wanted to understand what reading really looks like for women today. At a time when attention feels increasingly stretched, notifications never stop, and every platform is competing for our focus, has reading changed – or are we simply reading differently?
Their results show that reading remains deeply embedded in everyday life, but the way people engage with content has evolved significantly. Reading today is frequent, habitual and highly adaptive, happening in the gaps between meetings, on public transport, before bed, and while scrolling phones throughout the day.
It’s all about the timing – headline stats
Reading is increasingly mobile-first and opportunistic, becoming something people do around life, not instead of it. That makes placement, timing and format as important as the content itself.
- 83% read online articles on their smartphone, far outpacing laptops or tablets
- Reading happens most often at home (88%), in bed (74%) and on public transport (52%)
- Evenings (73%), before bed (69%) and weekends (66%) are the key reading windows
Read the full report and article here.
Go All In – the National Year of Reading 2026
PPA Magnetic is a proud supporter of this major, government-backed initiative. Led by the Department for Education in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, it aims to reconnect the UK with the joy and value of reading.
Here’s how you can get involved.
