How Book-Tok Made Gen Z Put Down The Phone and Pick Up The Books
Generation Z have banded together and found their love for books again. Some are describing it as a reading renaissance. The social media platform “Tik Tok” has grown exponentially since Covid-19 and pushed regular everyday people to become influencers of their passions. There is a corner for every community, and “Book-tok” has been the place where people share their favorite reads or promote new releases in creative ways. This captured the attention of Gen Z and many have started to be on their phone less and read more.
Book-Tok is a community of readers who post videos about their favorite books and characters, book reviews and ‘to be read’ lists. This concept is nowhere near new or unique to TikTok, as you can infer from the ‘Book-Tube’ community on YouTube or ‘Bookstagram’ on Instagram. The biggest difference between these and Book-Tok is the length of the videos. TikTok videos have the option to be 15 or 30 second long with a rare 3 minute option. The short length means most creators in the Book-Tok community create several short TikToks throughout the day, and these videos are usually less formal than the longer content seen on other platforms.
It is being described as a reading renaissance because people are promoting decade old books and turning them into best sellers shedding some light on older books to praise them.
For example, there are instances where some may have never been into reading or literature, but the delivery of a TikTok influencer changed some lives. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab took tik tok by storm and was described as the perfect transition from a young adult reader to mature and adult writing. It is a beautiful body of work that inspired Jo Gonzalez in 10th grade to put down the phone and finally start turning pages.
“This girl on my for you page just said 'STOP what you're doing, SHUT UP, and read this book.' and she described something that actually caught my attention.”
~ Jo Gonzalez
After finding a new hunger for books Jo began searching for more, reading maybe over a hundred books in eight months. The aesthetic matters to her. The best videos are the kind that gravitate towards you and your personality, and for Jo, it was her biggest influence to buy all the books on her shelf today. This even inspired random library trips with friends in the middle of the night to read. Creators like @aymansbooks and @endlessbookworld made spaces for people like Jo, people who have that curiosity to read, but just need the right book to touch the soul. On the other hand, there are readers who feel like TikTok did not start their journey, but certainly helped them grow their personal library.
Simir Hampton was someone who absolutely hated reading until being assigned A Separate Peace by John Knowles in 11th grade English. The purpose for this being his starter was because he could relate to it, and in order to enjoy literature you have to be able to connect to it. That was something that Book-Tok influencers were great at doing, teaching people how to look at the cover, read a summary, and find themselves in it.
“I read A Seperate Peace in Aglira’s class, and I was like ‘Oh my God, this book is lowkey gay’ so I could read gay books now….And I couldn’t stop I just kept reading and reading.”
Junior year of high school may seem like a late start to some, but as a child you are told to associate reading with tests, school, and failure. You are told that books make you smart when in retrospect they don't. If you read a book and cannot recall a single moment then you did not gain knowledge. It is the act of analyzing and picking it apart from your individual interpretation that fulfills your brain. Reading relatable novels like Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin pushed this notion for Simir, your intentions with the start of a book will determine how you will finish it and how you study it.
“Any form of media or any form of documentation you can learn from. Books are not the only way…There are more ways to read than opening a book if you pay attention.”
~ Simir Hampton