World Book Day: Chinese readers interacting more online now

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April 23rd is World Book Day and whether you're someone who reads paper-books, or their electronic equivalent, it's a day to be celebrated. A recent national survey in China suggests people read nearly as many e-books as paper books last year. And the reason has much to do with the evolution of social media. Natasha Hussain explains how our reading habits continue to change.

A coffee break from work and Lina starts her 30 minutes of quality reading, digesting both Chinese classic literature and English novels, doing a pop quiz and "clocking-in" via Wechat. Done! Lina has been sharing her reading online for five months. For her, it has now become routine.

SHEN LINA BEIJING "In the beginning, I shared my reading mainly because the platforms require me to do so and I could get extra bonuses from this. Gradually, I have got used to this way of reading. I'm not showing off, I see it as a fulfilling task every day. This sharing spirit has influenced more and more of my friends in WeChat to join."

A recent national survey suggested about six in 10 Chinese adults read online for more than 40 minutes every day. Much of their material is accessed through China's most popular social networking platform, WeChat. Readers under 50 are the most avid.

WEI YUSHAN, PRESIDENT CHINESE ACADEMY OF PRESS & PUBLICATION "As we are more occupied with work, it's not easy to keep active reading. Also, with overloaded information, many feel insecure when they are reading. Thus, by joining reading groups on various online platforms, people can encourage each other."

More and more app developers are trying to grab a larger share of this market. New Oriental, China's leading educational service provider -- has also joined the race, by inviting children in public libraries across China to its online reading platform.

SUN CHANG CEO, KOOLEARN NEW ORIENTAL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY GROUP "We focus on in-depth reading. Despite fragmented reading time, we like to create systematic content for our online readers. "

Not everyone is buying the new model.

READERS CITIC BOOKS, BEIJING "What if I was so absorbed in my reading on my phone and suddenly a call came? " "I can totally understand young people's online reading habits. But, for myself, I prefer sitting here and flipping through the pages."

When ink gives way to pixels, and reading alone, to learning together, one thing is for sure--- we will find fewer excuses NOT to read. Natasha Housine, CGTN.