Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time

Teenagers' reading scores have hit their worst levels this century, declining from 501 to 466 on the OECD's 2025 assessment of 760,000 students across 91 countries, driven largely by increased screen time and reduced pleasure reading. Mathematics and science scores also reached their lowest points since 2000, with digital distraction linked to lower performance, though the OECD found that device use becomes harmful only beyond five hours daily and that AI chatbots for essay writing correlate with significantly lower scores.