Supporting Reading as a Useful Leisure Practice for Children of the Digital Era

The aim of the article is to study the state of reading as a leisure practice in the context of the rapid development of technologies, and to determine prospects for stimulating interest in extracurricular reading, which will also correspond to the provisions of the state policy for the reading development in Ukraine. Research methods. Scientific methods of analysis, synthesis and comparison are used in this research in order to achieve the specified aim, which made it possible to assess the state of leisure reading among school-age children, and to present modern practices in terms of its promotion. Methods of systematic and comparative analysis are also used to generalise the research results. Analytical grouping (categorisation) is used to classify data from the sociological study on children’s leisure time by gender. Correlational and factor analyses of statistical data of the all- Ukrainian sociological research conducted by LLC “Info Sapiens International” as a part of the project “Supporting the promotion of reading in Ukraine” with the support of the International Foundation “Renaissance” and the Ukrainian Book Institute are made. Scientific novelty. It consists in identifying the leisure practices of school-age children by gender through the processing and analysis of sociological information and its differences interpretation. Its consideration in directions of popularising book reading will contribute to the formation of the reading habit. Main conclusions. In the context of the rapid development of technology, extracurricular reading is inferior to other forms of leisure, such as video games, social networks, video content consumption. A modern approach to extracurricular reading requires an analysis of the best practices of the current leisure industry. A basis of this approach is a strategic development of complex solutions that take into account both traditional and digital formats of reading, which are adapted to rapid technological changes. Special attention is paid to gender aspects and the integration of elements known to children through video games in order to increase general interest in reading. The introduction of gamification and interactivity elements have to ensure a harmonious combination of reading as a traditional form of leisure with the advantages of modern digital technologies. Such a synthesis of traditional and innovative methods is designed to provide balanced leisure time for children, to support the culture of reading in conditions of rapid digital technologies development, and to correspond to the provisions of the state policy for the reading development in Ukraine.