The Curious Case Of Social Media And The Revival Of Reading
- ricrotaract
- Sep 18, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 21, 2022
The concepts of time and space would cease to exist if there ever comes a time when our parents and grandparents stop starting every other sentence with the phrase, “Back when we were young,” and go on to describe how different their childhood was in comparison to that of today’s youth.
One of their least favourite things about today’s generation is undoubtedly how attachedyoung people are to internet culture and digital entertainment and how this has pulled them away from more traditional media like books, plays, the opera etc.
But what if the fast-paced, mile-a-minute content of social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are actually reintroducing the joys of slow-paced entertainment to mainstream audiences?
During the pandemic, the book publishing industry experienced a massive boom. For decades, publishers and bookstores have existed under the looming threat of printed books becoming obsolete. However, in 2020, over 200 million print books were sold in the UK alone, which was a first since 2012.
While 2020 marks a time when people were stuck inside their homes with ample time on their hands to immerse themselves in stories, it also marks the origin of BookTok. Similar to BookTube and Bookstagram, which are niches on Youtube and Instagram respectively, BookTok is a niche on TikTok dedicated to reading with 75.5 billion views as of now.
BookTube and Bookstagram have been around for longer, but while they’ve been wonderful communities for people who already love reading, BookTok has been key in bringing about a revival in reading by reaching a larger audience. Shannon DeVito, Director of Books for Barnes & Noble says, “BookTok has had a much bigger effect and influence on sales. BookTok has a leg up (over other book social media platforms) because it is so quickly consumable, and the genuine emotion from fellow readers and book sellers has created a flourishing community.”
On BookTok, users make short videos talking, ranting, raving, and–on occasion–sobbing about what they’ve been reading. The passion these creators have for reading is infectious; watching their content makes viewers want to cosy up, read the books being talked about, and join in on the hype.
What once was a more solitary activity has been granted a communal aspect by these platforms. Now, when an insane plot twist rocks their world, readers can hop on to social media and find people to yell about it with. This is giving young people the opportunity to learn how fun reading can be when you are not forced to do so and are genuinely excited about what you read.
Reading is like eating a bag of crisps – once you get started, you can’t stop – BookTok is giving people the incentive to start reading again.
Major bookstores have even started displays solely of books that have blown up on TikTok. What’s even more crazy is that some of my friends who rarely had an ounce of interest in reading before, can now never be seen without a book in hand!
BookTok has a large focus on romance books and young adult fiction and this is an important aspect of this platform because it normalises reading light and fun books, which is something that is often looked down upon by some. But BookTok doesn’t only cater to romance and adventure-loving hearts. If you spend a little bit of time on BookTok, the all-knowing algorithm will peep into your soul and deliver TikToks with books akin to your taste straight to your For You Page!
BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube are filled with themed and general book recommendations so that readers can always stay on top of new releases and pick up books that they know they are going to love. This makes it possible for a wide variety of books to come into the mainstream and this gives self-published authors a shot at making it big. Creators also bring attention to the need to include diversity in books and make people aware of books that tell important stories. For example, the popularity of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper graphic novels comes in a time when sweet and wholesome queer love stories are rare.
It is quite the paradox: the very thing that people claim is killing the minds of today’s youth is driving young people to engage in the beneficial activity of reading. The negative impacts of social media platforms are plentiful and undeniable, yet they prove to have unexpectedly wholesome impacts too. BookTok and other bookish social media niches have successfully shown that you can have the best of both worlds, and one thing’s for sure, reading will not be going obsolete anytime soon!
References
Written By : Rtr. Pulithi
Design By: Rtr. Shenali
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