Whether you love it or hate it, TikTok has made a huge impact on the way we consume media - affecting what we are listening to, talking about, watching and even reading. Booktok has blown up in a big way in the last few years and has had a major impact on the publishing industry. It is likely that your local bookshop will have a Booktok or ‘as seen on TikTok’ display.
When I was a teenager in the 2010’s it was unanimously agreed amongst my peers that reading was not ‘cool’ and me and my friends love for books was something we consciously new set us apart from the ‘popular kids’. These days, reading has become far more widely accepted and praised as not only cool but aspirational. The 2023 What Kids Are Reading report stated that in the UK and Ireland children read 24% more books than the previous year. (Grierson, 2023)
But this rise is not without criticism. Though people are reading more books, some say the quality of the books is far more important than the quantity, and have criticised booktok for holding to esteem low quality books that appease the short attention span of a TikTok user. The What Kids Are Reading report also found that, ‘while average book difficulty rose as pupils became older, this was not in proportion to the rate at which the pupils should have been improving in reading’. (Grierson, 2023)
Booktok is sometimes regarded as having a negative impact on the publishing industry - as these trope filled ‘trendy’ novels sell well, writers are pressured to dilute more important issues and create more work. Kathryn Lee (2022) stated “While trope marketing is not inherently bad, allowing readers to explore a variety of literature while anchoring their tastes in something familiar, it promotes a troubling oversimplification of literature.”
Particularly criticised is the writing of Colleen Hoover, as May Lindeman (2023) stated, ‘ negatively influences the relationship ideals of young women. Because of the short-form style of content on TikTok, the themes of domestic violence written in Hoover’s novels have become watered down by “BookTok.”’
However, all reading is good for keeping bookshops open, and it bodes well for writers that young people are reading again. Publishers Association reported that ‘Almost two-thirds (59%) of 16-25 year olds say that BookTok or book influencers have helped them discover a passion for reading’ and that within their survey ‘ nearly half (49%) of respondents visiting a physical bookshop to buy a book they have seen on BookTok,’ which is brilliant news in a post Amazon world.
It is, I believe, natural for interests to move and change with time and technology - and while some statistics around Booktok are troubling, others incredibly inspiring - it is only on ourselves to encourage reading both for pleasure and for a deeper understanding of the world and people around us.
References
Grierson, J. (2023) Children read almost 25% more books last year, UK and Ireland Study finds, The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/25/children-read-almost-25-more-books-last-year-uk-and-ireland-study-finds (Accessed: 06 March 2024).
Lee, K. (2022) BookTok’s ‘trope-ification’ of literature is problematic, Pipe Dream. Available at: https://www.bupipedream.com/opinions/booktoks-trope-ification-of-literature-is-problematic/133023/ (Accessed: 06 March 2024).
Lindeman, M. (2023) Opinion: ‘Booktok’ is negatively impacting literature, The Suffolk Journal. Available at: https://thesuffolkjournal.com/41555/opinion/opinion-booktok-is-negatively-impacting-literature/#:~:text=The%20popularization%20of%20Hoover’s%20novels,watered%20down%20by%20%E2%80%9CBookTok.%E2%80%9D (Accessed: 06 March 2024).
Publishers Association (2023) The booktok generation: How social media is transforming Gen z reading habits, Publishers Association. Available at: https://www.publishers.org.uk/the-booktok-generation-how-social-media-is-transforming-gen-z-reading-habits/ (Accessed: 06 March 2024).
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