Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/982634
maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 16 MAY 2018 5 NEWS DEPICTING carefree 20-year-olds as uninterested in books is mistaken, according to the MaltaToday survey that found older people more likely not to read books. While only 8% of people between 18 and 35 said they do not read books, the number almost doubled in the age group immediately after (36-50). Among the middle-aged, 14.6% said they do not read books, a percentage that remained almost constant among those aged 51-65. The numbers almost doubled again among the elder- ly, with the findings showing that 27.9% of those older than 65 saying they do not read books. Overall, 14.2% of people do not read books. These results are a spin-off from the survey's main findings about language use and do not provide a deep enough picture on why people do not read, or how often they do. But they do give a snapshot of who shuns books and newspapers. Interestingly, the survey showed that men are twice more likely than women not to pick up a reading book. And there is very little difference between people when results are analysed by political allegiance. While 15.4% of PL voters confessed to not reading books, 13.4% of PN voters admitted like- wise. And the bookworms appear to be found in Gozo and the South Eastern region. These two regions had the lowest number of people who said they do not read books - with 8.2% and 9.8% respectively. In contrast, 17.3% of people in the Western region said they do not read books. When it comes to newspapers, the overall num- ber of people who do not read them (14.8%) stands at par with that of books. An equal number of males and females do not read newspapers and uniformity in numbers is by and large maintained across all age groups until 65. Contrary to popular perception, the number of elder- ly who do not read newspapers is almost double that of other age groups at 23.2%. There is also no significant difference between PL and PN voters and on a regional basis, newspapers ap- pear to be more popular in Gozo than anywhere else. KURT SANSONE THE next time your grand- father asks what Facebook is, do not look back at him as if he has fallen from the moon. He is actually one of more than three quarters of el- derly people who do not use Facebook. The figure comes from a MaltaToday survey that re- ported how 76.3% of those aged 65 and over said they do not use Facebook when asked which language they used on the social media platform. Your grandfather is also very likely not to source his news online with the find- ings pointing towards a gen- erational digital divide. The survey found that 60.4% of the elderly do not read the news on the inter- net, by far the largest pro- portion across all age groups. But elderly people are not alone in shunning Facebook or not reading the news on- line. A significant fraction of non-Facebook users was also registered among those aged 51 to 65, with 36.8% saying they do not use the social media platform. This contrasts with the younger generations. Only 2.5% of those under 35 ad- mitted to not using Face- book, increasing to 11.4% among the middle-aged. The survey found that overall, a quarter of people do not use the social media platform. As for reading the news on- line, the next largest cohort of those who do not source their news from the internet is the 51-65 age bracket. Of these, 23.4% said they do not read the news online. In sharp contrast, only 3.5% of those aged 18-35 said they do not read news on the internet, going up to 7.4% among those aged 36 to 50. The survey was conducted between the 23 and 27 April and its main focus was the use of Maltese and English for speaking and reading purposes. The results concerning Facebook use are a spin-off from the main findings and further research is required to determine the reasons why the elderly do not use Facebook or read the news online. A Eurostat survey on in- ternet use last year had found that 51% of those aged between 65 and 74, who had used the internet in the previous three months, participated in social media networks. Eurostat also found that 77% of internet users be- tween 65 and 74, read on- line news. Both figures are much higher than the Mal- taToday findings. However, the results of both surveys cannot be strictly com- pared. While the Eurostat survey specifically targeted inter- net users, the MaltaToday survey did not ask whether people used the internet. Unlike the Eurostat find- ings, the percentages quot- ed in the MaltaToday sur- vey are based on the whole population of the age group and not just internet users. This explains the wide disparity between the num- bers. Facebook? The elderly are offline Who does not read books and newspapers? OVERALL 14.8% 19.1% 14.2% 25.6% M 15.5% 17.0% 20.7% 26.3% F 14.3% 20.7% 9.1% 25.0% 18-35 13.2% 3.5% 8.0% 2.5% 36-50 11.8% 7.4% 14.6% 11.4% 51-65 14.2% 23.4% 13.4% 36.8% 65+ 23.2% 60.4% 27.9% 76.3% Gozo 5.4% 16.7% 8.2% 36.0% Northern 13.2% 13.9% 14.4% 18.8% Northern Harbour 14.8% 17.2% 17.1% 20.0% South Eastern 17.5% 19.6% 9.8% 29.6% Southern Harbour 14.4% 24.7% 12.5% 32.7% Western 19.7% 24.1% 17.3% 28.3% Primary 27.7% 75.9% 32.3% 84.5% Secondary 20.1% 22.4% 17.6% 28.0% Post Sec 11.9% 4.9% 12.4% 12.8% Tertiary 4.8% 1.4% 4.0% 7.3% No vote 2017 18.5% 16.3% 19.6% 15.7% PL 2017 15.3% 27.2% 15.4% 32.9% PN 2017 11.8% 9.9% 13.4% 19.7% Other findings The higher the educational attainment, the higher the use of Facebook 32.9% of PL, and 19.7% of PN voters do not use Facebook 30.7% of people preferred English when writing on Facebook 23.3% of people used both Maltese and English on Facebook Highest non-use of Facebook is in Gozo 27.2% of PL, and 9.9% of PN voters do not read online news DON'T READ.... Newspapers Online Books Facebook News