Reading in the Mobile Era

By Wang Hai

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Reading in the Mobile Era

By Wang Hai

An old Chinese saying encourages young people to “read 10，000 books and travel 10，000 miles”， illustrating a traditional Chinese belief that being both well-read and well-traveled are key pillars of wisdom.

These days， however， one would be hardpressed to find someone who has read 10，000 books—at least not printed ones. Mobile devices have reshaped the way people read books， and shtfting demographic factors are influencing the number of people who like to read， and how oThen.

No Time for Reading

Reading in China fell in the early 2000's before rebounding in recent years， according to statistics published by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication （CAPP）. According to a 1999 CAPP survey， 60.4 percent of Chinese respondents had read at least one book in the past year. That figure decreased in the years that followed， and by 2005， the figure had dropped to 48.7 percent.

By 2015， however， reading rates had rebounded to 58.4 percent， due to advocacy for reading by the Chinese government combined with the growth of electronic reading devices and the popularity of smart phones. But the average number of books that Chinese people read in one year， at 4.58，lags far behind Japan， South Korea and Israel，three of the world's leaders in reading.

Many Chinese say they simply do not have enough time to pick up a book. Fastpaced economic growth has led to greater competitiveness in society and busy urban centers. Against the backdrop of increasing workloads and work-related pressure， many young people consider it impractical or even

Time spent on mobile phones

Average per day， select countries extravagant to take time to relax with a book. Compared to “fast food leisure”—the likes of watching a blockbuster film or heading to the mall for some shopping—books are both time and energy intensive. As entertainment variety has increased， the Chinese have lost some of their enthusiasm for reading.

Fragmented Reading

As people have spent less time curled up with a book， mobile phone usage has skyrocketed. Mobile platforms have become an integral part of people's lives not only in terms of communication， but in entertainment as well.

People in Asia and Africa are even more dependent on their mobile phones than their European and American counterparts，according to a 2014 survey by Millward Brown's AdReaction， an information consulting company. Chinese survey subjects spent an average of 170 minutes per day on their smart phones， outlasting participants from the United States， Japan and South Korea. Participants from other developing countries who spent even longer per day on their phones include Nigerians （193 minutes），Saudi Arabians （189 minutes）， Indonesians（181 minutes）， Filipinos （174 minutes） and Kenyans （174 minutes）.

Due to the ubiquity of the global smart phone market， companies across all kinds of industries have developed products geared to mobile platforms， including music and video streaming services， games， mobile payments and reading

A passenger reads on his mobile phone on the Beijing subway， a common sight during the city's rush hour periods

Young people have developed habits of reading on their phones， including e-books，which can be viewed on any of a variety of e-reading apps. WeChat， a messaging app，makes it easy for users to share shorter forms of reading， and Weibo， a microblog service similar to Twitter， allows users to post ideas to followers. Although still slightly less prevalent， middle-aged and elderly demographics are beginning to join the trend of reading on mobile phones.

Mobile phones allow users to fill up fragmented time. Despite leading extremely fast-paced lives， many of those living in large cities spend time commuting to work every day， and they choose to fill that time by reading short， visually appealing and personalized content on their phones.

The Era of Mobile Reading

Xiao Meng， a young media company employee in Beijing， said she has become addicted to reading on her phone and tablet. She feels the biggest advantage of reading on a mobile device is that the content is personalized， customized and short， which suits her fast-paced life. In addition to access to entertainment， she appreciates the ability to communicate in specific ways.

However， Xiao said that reading on mobile devices has some drawbacks. Screen sizes tend to be smaller than the size of a book，and the high luminescence of screens can make readers' eyes uncomfortable aTher long periods of time. The industry， meanwhile，remains relatively unregulated. Some apps offering access to books sidestep copyright laws. Some apps even take a photo of each page of a book， accompanied by pop-up advertising. These issues need to be addressed if the industry is to become mainstream.

Mobile phones aside， devices like e-readers have had an impact on the book industry. Offering a reading experience more similar to that of reading a printed book， e-readers have grown in popularity in China in recent years—a typical sight in the hands of rush hour commuters in major Chinese cities.

Although reading in China has been impacted heavily by the growth of smart phone usage， some in the industry view mobile platforms as an opportunity to redefine how people read books.

To celebrate World Book Day 2016， the second China Digital Reading Conference kicked off in Hangzhou， the capital of eastern China's Zhejiang Province， on April 13. According to the White Paper of Digital Reading in 2015， readers of digital books in China reached 296 million in 2015—52.2 percent of whom read on their mobile phones. Computer-based readers accounted for 26.1 percent.

The rapid growth of smart phones has led many to change the way they communicate and access information. For young people—who tend to be unafraid of small screens—the smart phone might just be the device needed to rekindle the Chinese people's enthusiasm for reading.