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Key insights:
37% of people spend more than an hour a day doomscrolling, compared with 17% of people who read for 60 minutes or more.
Seeking meaningful connection, 32% have considered joining a book club, while 29% have lingered in a library or bookshop hoping to meet someone.
35% view reading regularly as a dating green flag, and only 7% say it’s a red flag.
The habit alone is enough to increase attraction, with 86% insisting reading preferences don’t negatively impact their interest in someone.
The average person reads far less today than in the past. We’re all too busy scrolling endlessly through short-form content designed to keep us hooked, yet provide little real value.
You’re unlikely to find the secret to a sharper mind, stronger social skills, and a better love life on your feed. Rather, that knowledge is buried in expert insights, hard-won experience, and the words used to capture them.
Headway app surveyed 1,000 people on their reading habits, how doomscrolling often gets in the way, and whether a good book can help us break free from the feed and really connect.
Read or reel: The time we waste doomscrolling
You take a break and watch a video or two, then suddenly the sun’s going down, and you’ve somehow spent hours mindlessly scrolling on social media.
We all know it’s, at best, a terrible waste of time, and, at worst, awful for our physical and mental health. Yet, 37% of people spend over an hour each day watching short-form videos, with 15% spending more than two hours scrolling.
In reality, the number of hours lost to social media may be far higher, with research showing 66% of people underestimate their screen time… by an average of over 2.5 hours.
All that unconscious tapping and the countless times we tell ourselves ‘Just one more’ costs us months each year – time that could be put to far better use.
‘Just one more’ leads to over 30 days a year – time that could be put to far better use.
In contrast, reading is linked to a sharper mind, reduced stress, greater knowledge, and stronger social skills. Yet only 53% of people spend 30 minutes or less reading a day. Some 24% don’t consume a single word, leaving their books (and minds) to gather dust.Of course, modern life is busy and tiring. It can be hard to find the time or the willpower to get through a chapter, let alone an entire book. Yet, gaining the knowledge a cover holds doesn’t have to take hours. In just 15 minutes, you can pick up the skills that took today’s CEOs to the very top, or learn how to beat anxiety and show your confident side.
Turning pages into connections: The social side of reading
Reading doesn’t just help you build knowledge. For many, it’s also viewed as a great way to build relationships.Some 32% of people have considered joining a book club in the hopes of meeting someone like-minded, with 10% having actually joined – turning the fantasy into non-fiction.
Similarly, 29% of people have lingered in a bookshop or library hoping to add a love interest or sidekick to their story, with 10% having successfully met someone between the bookshelves.
Love at first chapter: Does reading make us more attractive?
What’s the best way to attract interest while out and about? A flashy outfit? A nice scent? Or a good book?Smart is sexy, and 20% have used that to their advantage, taking a book to a café, bar, or park to catch someone’s eye.
And it might just work.Remember that silly social media trend – Would you still love me if I was a worm? – Well, for many people, that could increase the attraction.Some 35% of people say attending a book club is a dating green flag, compared to 6% who say it turns them off. So being a bookworm definitely doesn’t harm your romantic prospects.
Whether vampire fanfics keep you turning the pages or you can’t put down the works of the world’s greatest philosophers, for most people, the type of literature isn’t all that important. Some 86% say it doesn’t matter if someone only reads books they find shallow or boring.
Simply building the habit is easier than you might think. Each day is full of small moments, often wasted on social media, that add up to a lot. Using that time to soak up the knowledge, skills, and confidence that reading offers is enough to increase your appeal – and your chances of penning your own love story.
Methodology: To create this study, researchers from Headway surveyed 2,000 professionals of all genders, aged 18 and over.
About Headway
With over 55 million users in 170+ countries, the Headway app is the world's most downloaded book summary app. It offers 15-minute audio and text summaries of nonfiction bestsellers, as well as daily microlearning sessions and gamified challenges. The app is designed to help people achieve their self-development goals. Headway received the Editor's Choice award from the US App Store and constantly hits the App Store home screen as App of the Day.
