Reading is 'in decline' due to other pressures on children's time such as the internet, video games and television, according to a UK-based charity.
Only 33.5 per cent of youngsters agreed that reading was 'cool', with the figure falling to 14 per cent among boys aged 14 to 16, the Daily Mail reported.
Some 17 per cent admitted they would be embarrassed if their friends saw them read.
The research was based on a survey of more than 21,000 children and young people at the end of last year.
Three in ten youngsters read daily in their own time, down from four in 10 in 2005.
More than half - 54 per cent - said they preferred watching TV to reading.
Among those who did read outside class, 47.8 per cent said they read fiction, down from 51.5 per cent in 2005.
The report found that young people who read outside class on a daily basis were 13 times more likely to read above the expected level for their age.
"The fact children are reading less than in 2005 signals a worrying shift in young people's literacy habits," National Literacy Trust director Jonathan Douglas, said.
"The findings of this survey come as no surprise and shows that we need to continue our drive to encourage young people to develop a love of reading," a spokesman for UK's Department for Education was quoted as saying by the paper.
"Children need to master the basics of reading as early as possible in primary school so they can then go on to explore magical and powerful books such as Private Peaceful, Harry Potter, and, in good time, books such as Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm and those by Charles Dickens," the spokesman said.
