Text and email trounce snail mail

The death knell could be sounding for the traditional letter, according to recent figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS asked 1,700 people what "personal reading" they had done in the past week, the first time the organisation had asked such a question.

Thirty-two per cent said that they had read text messages, 31 per cent said emails and 29 per cent said personal letters.

The report claimed that men prefer electronic forms of communication, while women favour old-fashioned letters. One in 10 said they had studied a religious text in the past week.

The ONS was asked to carry out the survey on behalf of the National Reading Campaign, a government initiative to improve adult literacy levels.

The survey is part of an effort to get companies involved in Swap a Book Day on 6 September and persuade non-readers to buy books.