Travelers are helping fuel the audiobook boom amid debate over what constitutes “reading.”
Since 2016, the percentage of Americans who listen to audiobooks daily has risen from 3% to 8% — a 167% increase — according to Edison Research. And 51% of adults say they’ve listened to an audiobook at least once, according to the Audio Publishers Association’s 2025 Consumer Survey.
But traditionalists insist that reading requires eyes on the page. By 2025, more than 40% of Americans believe that listening to an audiobook is less rigorous and not really considered reading. NPR-Ipsos poll found.
However, others find that the suggestion that audiobooks are “unimportant” seems objectionable.
More Americans are turning to audiobooks, raising debate about whether listening counts as reading. (Istock)
Of course, “reading” means having fun the art of storytelling, “Audiobooks allow for that,” said Ali Smith, a Maryland-based dog trainer and avid audiobook listener.
While she wishes she had time to sit down and read a real book, audiobooks fit her busy life better.
“Telling me that doesn’t mean I’m reading and I’m listening to stories about dragons and fairies and knights and gnolls is just not true,” Smith told Fox News Digital.
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Some experts agree, while others say the distinction is not so simple.
Experts say that reading print and listening to audiobooks activates key language comprehension areas of the brain. (Istock)
“The area of the brain we call the ‘letter box,’ which processes print, is not engaged when you listen,” Nadine Japp, a cognitive neuroscientist from Harvard Graduate School of Education in Massachusetts, said recently. Harvard Gazette.
“But it turns out that when some people listen to words, they imagine them, so the message box is activated.”
Both listening and reading can activate the brain’s key language comprehension systems, agreed Emily Levy, a literacy expert and founder of EBL Coaching, which serves New York and New Jersey.
“When someone listens to an audio book or reads a print book, the comprehension parts of the brain show similar activity,” Levy told Fox News Digital.
However, she cautions that describing the two trials as identical would be an oversimplification.
Experts say audiobooks can support comprehension, but print reading is essential for building decoding and fluency skills. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Print reading also engages visual networks, including areas involved in decoding letters and recognizing word patterns, skills that are especially important for children Learn to read. Audiobooks, on the other hand, rely on auditory processing systems.
“If a child needs to build decoding or reading fluency skills, listening to audiobooks will not be enough,” Levy said.
This nuance is often lost in online discussions, where opinions can be powerful and highly personal.
Zach Barnes, an associate professor of literacy at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, considers audiobooks a legitimate form of reading.
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“When we listen to an audiobook, you’re still trying to extract meaning from the text that’s being read aloud to you,” Barnes said. “You are still performing a complex cognitive task by listening to audiobooks.”
Audiobooks are becoming an increasingly popular way to pass the time on the go. (Istock)
Barnes added that audiobooks can act as a gateway, motivating some listeners to pick up a physical book and building actual stamina for reading.
Others believe that context is important. Listen while Driving or multitasking It can lead to divided attention, which may affect retention of fine details.
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Travel can be especially distracting, said Bob Hutchins, CEO of Human Voice Media and Ph.D. The researcher focused on how technology shapes psychology. But he claims so Discussions about audiobooks You tend to miss the bigger picture.
Some experts warn that listening while driving or flying may lead to distraction. (Istock)
“Instead, we should examine how each type of media affects perception during the process of absorbing information,” Hutchins, who is based in Nashville, told Fox News Digital.
He points out that reading print allows a person to control the pace of reading, reread passages, and even remember where information appears on the page.
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“Audio recordings connect us to our prior tradition of hearing a voice tell a story,” Hutchins said. “Printed materials anchor our minds in analytical thinking.”
Research suggests that audiobooks may also work well for telling stories and basic information, while print books can provide advantages when dealing with more complex material. Psychology Today reported.
Research suggests that audiobooks may be better suited for telling stories than complex information. (Istock)
Experts agree that the debate needs to shift away from whether audiobooks “count” as reading, and toward what listeners want to get out of the experience.
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For those on the go like Smith, who says audiobooks help her maintain her “sane sanity” as she paces her house at 2 a.m. trying to get her baby to sleep, the pressure to play remains on. Practical choice And one you don’t feel embarrassed about.
“I pride myself on listening to audiobooks,” she said.
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