New research shows that only one in five children (20.7 per cent) now write something on a daily basis that isn’t for their school work – down from 27.2 per cent in 2014.
The annual study of young people’s writing by the National Literacy Trust compares this figure to the proportion of children and young people who read on a daily basis, which in 2015 stood at 43 per cent and has been rising since 2010.
Furthermore, the study – which is based on a survey involving 32,569 children and young people aged from eight to 18 – finds that the proportion who say they enjoy writing has also fallen, from 49.3 to 44.8 per cent. Again, enjoyment of reading is notably higher at 54.8 per cent for 2015.
And technology continues to dominate the writing that children do, with text messages (68.6 per cent), social networking (44.3 per cent) and instant messaging (46.2 per cent) high on the list.
However, a quarter of children and young people still write letters (25.8 per cent), while lyrics (24.6 per cent) also remain a notable form of writing for young people.
The gender divide in writing also continues to persist, with 51.9 per cent of girls saying they enjoyed writing compared to 36.8 per cent of boys – however, both levels are down on 2014.
The report, Children’s and Young People’s Writing in 2015, states: “Boys tend to enjoy writing less, write less often and think less positively about writing than girls.
“Similarly, older pupils tend to be more disengaged with writing in terms of enjoyment and attitudes when compared with younger pupils.”
Elsewhere, the report found that only 54.4 per cent of the respondents agreed that being a good writer would help them get a good job, while 26.1 per cent said there was no point learning spelling and grammar if they could use a spellchecker. More than 70 per cent said that a good writer was someone who uses their imagination.
As one might expect, there are clear links between writing enjoyment and attainment. The report adds: “Our analysis shows that there is a clear relationship between writing enjoyment and writing attainment.
“Seven times as many children and young people who enjoy writing very much write above the level expected for their age compared with children and young people who do not enjoy writing at all.
“In contrast, nearly 14 times as many children and young people who do not enjoy writing at all write below the expected level compared with those who enjoy writing very much.”
The report, Children’s and Young People’s Writing in 2015, can be found at http://bit.ly/2eukBYG