By Bailey Weber, Staff Writer
When I look around the room ̶ whether that be at school, at the store, or at restaurants ̶ all I see is a sea of phone screens. I remember when I could look around, and see a few books in the mix, but not so much anymore. Today, people are on their phones more than ever, scrolling through social media on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. These social media platforms have been developed in ways that affect a person’s ability to read, and they are shaping the reading community both positively and negatively.
With the advancement in technology today, more people are being glued to their phones, scrolling endlessly through social media, better known as doomscrolling. It is harder for people to focus on one activity for very long without being bored and moving on to something else, another task, or something more entertaining.
Having a good attention span is an important necessity for readers because if you do not have a good attention span, it can be rather difficult to get through even a couple of chapters. Not only could it be harder to get through chapters, but it is even harder to comprehend what you are reading when you are distracted.
Another way that social media takes over the reading community through BookTok. BookTok is part of an algorithm on TikTok where the content is primarily about promoting different books and authors. While that sounds like a good thing, BookTok tends to focus on trending themes. What is most likely to happen is the same few books will be promoted. Many of them share the same themes and similar storylines. This can make it harder for readers to discover new books, because many recommendations focus on the same popular titles with very similar themes.
However, BookTok is not the worst thing either, some readers prefer to read the same type of books because they know they already like that. Plus, if a viewer sees the same book being promoted by different influencers, they may consider reading the book they are promoting since many people seem to enjoy the book. Another reason why BookTok can be positive to readers is because BookTok leads to increased exposure for different authors. While this is not directed primarily at readers, it is more likely that readers will be able to find out about their book and want to read it which leads to book sales and library demands.
Social media has clearly changed the way people engage with reading, bringing both benefits and challenges to the reading community. The rise of the BookTok trend can help readers discover new books and authors, but the constant exposure to short-form content can also reduce attention spans and make it harder to focus on longer texts. The future of reading depends not on social media platforms themselves, but on how readers choose to use them.
In order for readers to maintain their interest in books, they must learn to balance their time online with activities like reading so that social media enhances the reading community rather than weakening it.
ECC Cornerstone 