Reader Interviews Response

            For my reader interviews, I interviewed four college students. The first analysis I would like to complete is a comparison. All four college students are juniors with very busy schedules. In my opinion, age and time are huge factors in determining how often a person will spend reading. Each of the students I interviewed claimed that because there is not a lot of free time in college, they do not often choose to read during the little free time they do have. All four of the people I interviewed have to read for class; therefore, they find it difficult to read for fun right after they finish reading for class. 

            After looking at similarities, I analyzed the differences in each of the surveys. Three of the students I interviewed are business majors, while one is an education major. All three business majors indicated that most of their time studying is spent reading, while the education major said she rarely read for homework. It does not seem coincidental that the education major is the student who indicated that most books owned, the most books read in the past year and the most positive descriptions of reading. This survey would suggest that college students with the most hands-on study material would be more likely to read for fun while in college. The makes sense from my own experience. As an English major, I often have so much to read for my classes that I do not frequently read for fun during the semester.

            I also looked closely at the surveys through the lens of gender differences and gender expectations. The surveys I conducted aligned closely to what is stereotypically expected from a gender standpoint. The two males surveyed only like to read nonfiction, specifically books about business, history, and sports. The two females preferred fictional romance novels. Additionally, the females on average spent more time on their phone and browsing social media, which is something to be expected in terms of gender stereotypes. Overall, gender stereotypes were present in the four students surveyed.

            The results from the surveys did not surprise me. I figured that most college-aged students, outside of English majors, do not spend a lot of time reading. Even as an English major, I have trouble reading for fun during the semester. I know of several adults that spend a significant amount of time reading each day, but it would be interesting to survey them based on their time in college. This survey brought up several questions, but in my opinion the following is the most important: is there not enough time to read for pleasure in the world of college and career, or are people of today’s world simply reading less?