As people grow into their teen years, reading gets put on the backburner. A combination of busy schedules, lack of interest, and fear of getting made fun of force reading to a bottom rank. However, reading is regaining popularity, and social media is spurring this on. As some of the main trend setters in our society, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have aided reading in gaining back popularity in the teenage population.  

Reading can be beneficial to stress relief in all people. Battlefield High School student, Melissa Moz, said “When I was younger, I loved the Twilight series however, I stopped reading during high school because of time management. After seeing an advertisement on TikTok I started reading. I have now read twenty books since I have started reading again and it’s been really good for me.” As Moz learned, reading for fun can be a great outlet for anyone, especially young adults. Recently, a rise in reading’s popularity has been shown, and social media has had a clear effect. 

TikTok is a platform that allows their users to make short 30 second to 3-minute videos. “Booktok”, a subdivision of TikTok, promotes books by giving reviews, recommending books that fit under certain tropes, and making short videos that fit the aesthetic of the book using photos. . 

Popular romance author Colleen Hoover has benefited from “BookTok”. Hoover’s popular romance novel “It Ends with Us” gained great popularity due to TikTok making her one of the most well-known romance authors. This book has a 4.7/5 rating on Amazon and a 4.8/5 on Barnes and Noble. Caitlin McClafferty, a Junior at Battlefield, said “It Ends with Us was something I scrolled upon on TikTok and it immediately caught my eye. I ended up deciding to pick it up and absolutely loved it. TikTok is one of the only reasons why I found this book and tapped back into loving reading.” Social media has created a platform where readers can advertise their favorite books and persuade people to read them.  

Instagram also creates book related content. Instagram content differs from other typical book-centered posts. Book related content on Instagram centers around aesthetic photos and book reviews. Instagram content can persuade people in a visual way to read, and it also helps make it trendy. Battlefield student Maggie Son said, “While I have a hard time reading, seeing the reviews and stacks of book posted on Instagram helps motivate and get me back into reading.” While Instagram’s content is different from TikTok it can help already active readers regain motivation to pick up a book and inspire new readers to start. 

Social media has shown time and time again that it can be a powerful influence, and its effect on reading is no exception. Making picking up a book cool again will help relax people, promote up and coming authors, and get amazing books the attention they deserve.