Are there fewer fiction readers today than there were before

Probably not. There are more resources for readers now than before the internet was a thing. Not only are eBooks more available (legally and illegally; cheap and free), but there are more resources to find books and obtain them. And, unlike life before the internet, you have places to share your thoughts and engage with a community, a good thing for social creatures like us.

It's always worth remembering that the percentage of people who read has always been microscopic.

>>9964852
Thanks, I agree. Maybe this has led to more book buyers and fewer readers though, hard to be sure. I have trouble imagining modern men reading, though you're right that it has been a low percentage from the beginning.