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Oxford University has found that reading is the sole out-of-school activity that will enhance a teen’s career prospects. Not even sports or music can make this claim.
The study found that 16-year-olds who read books at least once a month were significantly more likely at age 33 to have a job that is managerial or professional.
Video game playing is the other side of the coin, where changes of attending college fell if a teen was spending a lot of their time that way.
The study looked at 17,200 people aged 33 and compared their extra-curricular activities at age 16 with their careers. For girls, there was a 39% probability that they would be in managerial or professional careers if they read as teens, compared to a 25% if they had not. For boys, the figures were 58% for readers, compared to 48% for nonreaders.
It’s another study win for reading as a teen. The other study that can out recently showed a link between decreased depression in teens and reading.