Kids Don't Enjoy Writing Anymore, Survey Finds
- LJ Cadogan
- Jun 26
- 1 min read
The 2025 Annual Literary Survey, conducted by the National Literacy Trust, reveals that writing enjoyment has reached its lowest level since 2010.
The survey found, based on responses from over 114,000 children and young people aged 5 to 19 across the UK, that fewer children and young people are writing in their spare time.
Key Findings
Writing enjoyment has seen a sharp decline over the past 15 years, falling by 20.2 percentage points since 2010, almost halving in that time.
Writing enjoyment declined across all age groups in 2025, but the fall was especially steep among primary-aged children, whose enjoyment levels dropped by six percentage points in just one year.
More children and young people receiving free school meals (FSMs) enjoyed writing than their non-FSM peers, continuing a trend lasting 15 years.
Just 1 in 10 children and young people reported that they wrote something daily in their free time.
There are signs that writing engagement could be rekindled among those who currently don’t enjoy it. Having the freedom to choose their own topics and formats proves particularly motivating, as does writing about personal experiences.
Teenagers are said to be "harder to reach" and "tend to respond less strongly to both creative and social motivators", while it was noted that "personal relevance has some impact".
