Has Tik Tok Made Reading Popular? 

In elementary school many children pick up Harry Potter from their school library. This one moment fuels an interest in reading that will likely last them into middle school …until high school begins and their interest in books becomes an interest in social media. But does one have to necessarily replace the other? 

Recently there has been much talk about the social media platform TikTok. This social app is a space where creators can make fifteen second to three minute videos on anything. Some people dance, some share news, and others recommend books. Booktok, a subsection of the platform, is a small community of young creators who share their love for reading. Through different types of book-related videos, they have sparked a popularity in reading that had been stagnant up unto this point. 

“When I was little I read regularly,” junior Catalina Giorgio said. “But especially since I started high school I just had so much to do that I would constantly push it aside. That was until I came across a video on my TikTok feed.” 

That video, like many others like it, was a book recommendation video. Booktokers have found creative ways to get young audiences interested in reading through the use of a variety of fun and entertaining videos on TikTok. 

“The videos I most like seeing are the ones where the creator recommends books they’ve read recently and include one or two sentences describing the vibe and genre,” Giorgio said.

Through these means Booktok has encouraged new and returning readers alike to get outside of their comfort zone when it comes to reading. It exposes them to a variety of book genres and authors that they might have not known about before. 

“Before Booktok I wasn’t really interested in picking up a book,” sophomore Ines Saudino said. “But one time I saw a video while I was scrolling through TikTok that showed me a book that sounded super interesting. After that one I just kept discovering more and more.”

In an online world where conflict is at every corner, Booktok is like a hidden utopia for those who just want to share in a love for books. For 19-year-old booktoker Grayce Bee (@alittlebooklife), that community has been more than welcoming.

“I have made amazing friends on Booktok,” Bee said. “Sometimes it just started by commenting on another creator’s post, and now we talk hours together about our favorite recent reads.” 

Bee works at Waterstones, the biggest bookstore in the UK, and has seen that Booktok has not only had an influence on its local community, but on a national level as well. She has amassed 19 thousand followers to her booktok account.

“Booktok now tends to control what books enter the New York Times Bestsellers list,” Bee said. 

This has further influenced authors to join the platform and interact with their audiences more. Bee hopes that future authors will follow in this trend. 

“I hope Booktok encourages future authors to not be afraid to talk to the people who read their books because it’s such an amazing way to gain readership,” Bee said. 

More authors joining Tiktok has further expanded the Booktok community. Now people who read books can interact with the authors of those books and in turn authors can efficiently build a fanbase. Furthermore, Booktok is proving to be a prime example of how social media can be used for good. 

“Social media doesn’t always have to be for spreading hate, arguing, or showing off,” Giorgio said. “Ever since it got me back into reading I have been more productive with my school work because I like to give myself time to read at the end of the day. Before, any free time I had went towards TV.” 

After just one person sees a Booktok video on their feed, the influence begins to spread. A catapult effect occurs and the person that reads books recommended to them encourages their friends and family to do the same. 

“After I discovered amazing books on TikTok one after another I couldn’t help but share them with my friends,” Giorgio said.