By Emma Clayton

It came down to a contest between JB Priestley and the housewives of Marbella.

And, even though the curmudgeonly Bradford socialist won in the end, it was something of a hollow victory.

My TV viewing habits are far from high-brow, but even I've always drawn the line at the 'dramality' strand of reality TV involving vacuous, expressionless people acting out stilted scenarios, managing to even play themselves badly. But all that changed over summer when I stayed with my teenage niece and succumbed to her awful viewing habits.

Bridezilla, Life on Marbs, and something strangely addictive called Don't Be Tardy for My Wedding - shows about shallow, appallingly-behaved people that aren't even worthy of being guilty pleasures - we watched them all. It was like scoffing a family-sized bag of pick 'n' mix, so sugary they cause a nasty rash.

Eventually the self-loathing became too much to bear, so last Sunday evening I insisted on watching a quality drama instead.

A new adaptation of JB Priestley's An Inspector Calls was on as part of BBC1's season of dramas based on literary classics. Not only was it more substantial than our usual TV diet of crazy brides and Marbella cliques, I hoped it would encourage Ellie to read something other than a YouTube blog.

"There's still a Marbs to watch on catch-up. Just saying," she muttered as I outlined the plot of An Inspector Calls while the opening titles rolled.

Three scenes in she was tapping on her phone, ear-phones in, zoned out.

York Press:

Whatever happened to reading a good book?

Not for the first time, I found myself grateful that I grew up in a world before smartphones and facebook. I was an avid reader as a teenager and loved watching TV dramas based on novels. I still remember the impact of books I read back then. I gave Ellie a copy of Rebecca recently, telling her I first read it at her age and was gripped. I hope she reads it, but I suspect she won't.

A new study reveals that less than a quarter of teenagers are "frequent" readers of books, spending their spare time instead on social media or surfing the internet. While more than half of six to eight year-olds read for fun five to seven days a week, this later declines dramatically, with only 17per cent of 15 to 17-year-olds picking up a book this often.

According to the Kids & Family Reading Report, three quarters of teenagers visit social networking sites practically every day.

When it comes to drawing their attention, reading is competing against many different activities. Young people have never had so many demands on their leisure time, and I don't think they're any better off for it.