The book publishing industry must reckon with a future that may have fewer readers in it.

As the Washington Post reported on Monday, and to no one’s surprise, American teens are reading fewer books than ever.

“The numbers in this study, published by the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, hit me like a hammer,” says Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly senior writer. “In 2016, one out of three U.S. high school seniors did not read a book for pleasure, while during the same period, 8 in 10 visited such social media sites as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram every day.”

The trend is alarming for a wealth of social reasons, including concerns that the decline in reading long-form texts may lead to diminished critical thinking skills. The book publishing industry, meanwhile, must reckon with a future that may have fewer readers in it. Both teens and adults are reading for pleasure at record low levels, Albanese tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally.

“For all the time and money and attention spent by the book industry in Washington lobbying against Google and Amazon, seeking to level the economic playing field, we simply aren’t doing enough to foster reading habits in our kids,” he says. “And we have to do better.”

Every Friday, CCC’s “Beyond the Book” speaks with the editors and reporters of “Publishers Weekly” for an early look at the news that publishers, editors, authors, agents and librarians will be talking about when they return to work on Monday.