Gen Z more confident they could pen a book with life advice than millennials

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

DO YOU HAVE WORDS OF WISDOM? IF YOU DO, YOU JOIN NEARLY HALF (47%) OF AMERICANS WHO THINK THEY COULD WRITE A SELF-HELP BOOK BASED ON THEIR LIFE EXPERIENCES.

THAT’S ACCORDING TO A NEW SURVEY OF 2,000 U.S. ADULTS THAT DISCOVERED THAT YOUTH AND WISDOM ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, HOWEVER, GEN Z (81%) SAY THEY ARE MUCH MORE CONFIDENT THEY COULD PEN A BOOK WITH LIFE ADVICE THAN MILLENNIALS (48%) OR BOOMERS (28%).

THE AVERAGE PERSON STARTS READING SELF-HELP BOOKS AT 14 YEARS OLD, BUT GEN Z READERS (60%) ARE MORE LIKELY THAN OLDER GENERATIONS TO BEGIN READING THESE BOOKS BETWEEN AGES 10 AND 15.

CONDUCTED BY ONEPOLL ON BEHALF OF THRIFTBOOOKS, THE SURVEY FOUND THAT, INTERESTINGLY, PEOPLE BEGIN PERUSING THE SELF-HELP GENRE ABOUT THREE YEARS AFTER THEIR FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH FICTION.

AND ALMOST HALF (49%) WRITE DOWN THEIR FAVORITE QUOTES FROM BOOKS THAT INSPIRED THEM, AND THE AVERAGE PERSON REMEMBERS ABOUT THREE OF THESE QUOTES OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEAD.

AMONG THE MOST MEMORABLE SAYINGS PEOPLE RECALLED WERE:

• “THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILE BEGINS WITH ONE STEP” 
• “SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE” 
• “NEVER LET THE FEAR OF STRIKING OUT KEEP YOU FROM PLAYING THE GAME” 
• “YOUR FOCUS DETERMINES YOUR REALITY”
• “DO OR DO NOT, THERE IS NO TRY.”

SELF-HELP BOOKS WITH THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON PEOPLE’S LIVES

• “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie - 47%
• “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell - 47%
• “The Way Forward” by Yung Pueblo - 44%
• “Atomic Habits” by James Clear - 40%
• “Chicken Soup For the Soul” series - 26%
• “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” by Richard Carlson - 21%
• “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey - 15%

AUTHORS PEOPLE ASSOCIATE WITH THE SELF-HELP GENRE

• Brené Brown - 46%
• James Clear - 41%
• Julia Cameron - 36%
• Mark Manson - 36%
• Carol S. Dweck - 26%
• Oprah Winfrey - 24%
• Dale Carnegie - 18%

Survey methodology:

This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by ThriftBooks between Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, 2023. It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are members of the Market Research Society and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).