How Gen Z discover and consume books / Kathi Inman Berens, Rachel Noorda

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Berens, Kathi Inman, author.

Noorda, Rachel, author.

Series:

Cambridge elements. Elements in publishing and book culture

Cambridge elements. Elements in publishing and book culture, 2514-8524

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Books and reading.

Generation Z--Social life and customs.

Generation Z.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2026

Summary:

"This Element examines book consumption practices of Gen Z (born 1997–2012), a generation whose formative years coincided with the internet, smartphones, and social media-digital ecosystems that transformed book discovery, consumption, and social identification. Drawing on two nationally representative US surveys (2025, n=2000; 2022, n=2075), the authors investigate paradoxical tensions in Gen Z reading: preference for print despite reliance on digital discovery mechanisms, dissonance between reader identity and actual behaviors, and evolving attitudes toward piracy and AI. The analysis reveals how Gen Z's reading practices exist within multimodal media environments with increasingly permeable format boundaries. This generation navigates a complex landscape spanning traditional bookstores to digital-only providers, where discovery is shaped by algorithms, peer influence, cross-media storytelling, and differential trust in information sources. These findings have significant implications for publishers, educators, and cultural institutions engaging young readers in fragmented media environments"-- Cambridge Core

Contents:

Introduction : Who are Gen Z?

The post-digital generation

Ethical conundrums for the values-based generation

Loneliness, resilience, and “declines” in Gen Z reading

Notes:

Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed July 31, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version: Berens, Kathi Inman How Gen Z discover and consume books

ISBN:

9781009732857

1009732854

OCLC:

1599557922

Publisher Number:

CIPO000412349

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license