Research: Young People Read More Magazines

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Because many established titles have seen the median age of their readers increase, there has been a belief inside the industry that magazine readers are getting older.

In fact, young people are reading more consumer magazines than their adult counterparts, according to McPheters & Co. “While younger adults tend to read different titles than those in older age groups, the fact that they read more magazines overall is very exciting,” said the president of the company, Rebecca McPheters.

Younger readers were disproportionately likely to read publications such as Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl, Maxim and Stuff, as well as bridal publications and magazines about gaming, music, and pregnancy. Nonetheless, People, Sports Illustrated and Time were the magazines with the largest number of readers under 35.

The analysis also showed that younger adults are about as likely to read national newspapers as those who are older.

The discovery comes as the result of recent methodological testing undertaken by the company to identify the best way to collect information on household income. While analyzing data from the new test, it became apparent that younger readers reported reading more magazines than older readers.

Thinking that the finding was perhaps attributable to a relatively small sample size, they went back to look at the results from the readership.com Beta test released last summer. The Beta test, with a sample of about 8400 respondents, showed that adults in the 19-24 and 25-34 age groups reported that they read a larger number of both different magazine titles and specific magazine issues than their older counterparts.