A third of people in Scotland have stopped regularly reading newspapers since the millennium, according to new figures. (Picture: Reuters)
The Scottish Social Attitudes survey found that last year 41 per cent of Scots "regularly read one or more daily morning newspapers". This is down from 76 per cent in 1999.
Meanwhile, the 2014 survey found that 33 per cent of Scots check online news or newspaper websites at least once a day. Some 38 per cent of the 1,501 surveyed in 2014 said they never read news online.
According to the survey, 46 per cent of the 250 people judged to have come from the most deprived areas never read online news.
Every year since 1999, social researcher NatCen has surveyed around 1,500 Scots "on the basis of random probability sampling" for Scottish Social Attitudes.
Table 1: Do you regularly read one or more daily morning newspapers?
| Yes (%) | No (%) | Sample Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 76 | 24 | 1,482 |
| 2000 | 71 | 29 | 1,663 |
| 2001 | 71 | 29 | 1,605 |
| 2003 | 66 | 34 | 1,508 |
| 2004 | 62 | 38 | 1,637 |
| 2005 | 58 | 42 | 1,549 |
| 2006 | 59 | 41 | 1,594 |
| 2007 | 61 | 39 | 1,508 |
| 2009 | 54 | 46 | 1,482 |
| 2010 | 54 | 46 | 1,495 |
| 2011 | 52 | 48 | 1,197 |
| 2012 | 49 | 51 | 1,229 |
| 2013 | 43 | 57 | 1,497 |
| 2014 | 41 | 59 | 1,501 |
The survey group were also asked: "How often, if at all, do you look online at a news or newspaper website?"
Some 12 per cent said they did so several times a day, and a further 21 per cent said every day. Meanwhile, 11 per cent said they did so several times a week, 11 per cent said at least once a week or a couple of times a month. Seven per cent said they did so once a month or less than once a month, and 38 per cent said they never do.
The survey also breaks down this information by age, gender, deprivation and education. These breakdowns show:
- 46 per cent of those from the most deprived areas never read online news – compared with 30 per cent in the least deprived
- 42 per cent of those from the least deprived areas read news online at least once a day – compared with 23 per cent in the most deprived areas
- 71 per cent of those surveyed with no educational qualifications never read online news – compared with 18 per cent educated to degree level
- Nearly half of 18-44-year-olds read news online on a daily basis
- 59 per cent of 65-74-year-olds and 87 per cent of those over 75 never do
Table 2: How often, if at all, do you look online at a news or newspaper website? (By deprivation area*)
| Several times a day/ every day | Several times a week | At least once a week/ A couple | Once a month/ less often | Never | Unweighted bases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 most deprived (%) | 23 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 46 | 250 |
| 2 quintile (%) | 27 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 45 | 288 |
| 3 quintile (%) | 32 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 41 | 351 |
| 4 quintile (%) | 41 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 30 | 348 |
| 5 least deprived (%) | 42 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 30 | 264 |
Table 2: How often, if at all, do you look online at a news or newspaper website? (By education)
| Several times a day/ every day | Several times a week | At least once a week/ A couple | Once a month/ less often | Never | Unweighted bases | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Degree (%) | 47 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 18 | 550 |
| Highers/A levels (%) | 41 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 26 | 276 |
| Standard GD/GCSE (%) | 18 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 55 | 357 |
| None (%) | 15 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 71 | 310 |
*NatCen used the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, used by the Scottish Government, to categorise deprivation areas into quintiles.
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