is tiktok ruining reading? & the desire to be 'a reader'

what was supposed to be a quick lowkey discussion video turned into a 40 minute long breakdown of readers on tiktok, booktok, identifying as a reader and tackling the common criticisms of booktok. oops.
hope you enjoy :)

00:00 intro
3:42 'tiktok only recommends the same books'
7:41 'Reader' as an identity
14:10 potential pitfalls of identifying with your hobby
19:08 reading as an *aesthetic*
28:59 books as part of your # personal brand
33:37 the REAL problem

🌼 s o c i a l m e d i a
• twitter: @thebookleo
• instagram: @thebookleo

🌺 a b o u t m e
Hi! My name is Leonie and I am a 25 year old who loves talking about books! From YA to non-fiction to classics, I read it all (although fantasy will always be my fave). I live in the Netherlands and go to university, but make booktube videos in my spare time :)

🌹 m u s i c
Music, art, and video by Jokabi

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Track Name: "This Time Of The Year"
Music By: Dj Quads @

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[TheBookLeo]

Welcome back to another episode of 'Leonie over-analyses the internet'
Edit: Yes, the audio in this video is a little fuzzy, sorry! I didn't sound all too bad to me, so I went with it anyway, but it should be fixed in my next videos :)

[a.d.]

The only real damage booktok has done is promoting Colleen Hoover books

[justwonder]

As a millenial who doesn't use TikTok I find the booktok criticism so annoying. First we complain that kids don't read, than we complain that kids read the wrong way. Than, complaining that reading is aesthetisized? Of course it is, reading has always had to do something with aesthetics. Have you seen old libraries, they're gorgeous for a reason.

[bubblybridget]

my one problem with booktok as a librarian is that they really emphasize owning books. I don’t care if you make reading an aesthetic, but I do wish more people just went to the library LOL

[Emperorofthemoon]

Fun fact: Niccolo Machiavelli dressed up in a full toga to read classical Roman literature because it helped him feel like he was conversing with the likes of Cicero. So…go nuts with your cute reading outfits lol

[ktglick]

As an old person who doesn’t use TikTok all that much, I will say that making your hobby your identity has been happening LONG before TikTok. I was a teen even before the internet and there were still aesthetics, even if we didn’t call them that. There were surfers, skaters, goths, D&D guys, athletes, dancers, and yes, bookworms. It’s just that we didn’t have the means to broadcast that beyond our own social groups. But it still very much existed, I think it’s just a part of figuring out who you are and growing up.

[moonthery]

I work at a library in Circulation and I’m just glad to see teens come up to the desk and ask if we have these books. Few years ago, they hardly came in to check out books or if they did it was for a school assignment only. Let people read!!!

[linzimacmillan]

If book tok keeps book shops open then I’m fully supportive. If it helps people who wouldn’t choose to read and they are now doing so then I don’t think it matters what they read.

[mojaslatt]

Promoting reading is one of the better uses I have seen for TikTok lol

[monster-enthusiast]

Love how two of the criticisms were "they make their bookselfs look good" and "they have piles of unread books" cuz like, people were doing that before the internet even existed.

[whoami.]

I've been teaching English to 16-18 year olds for 11 years and when I started teaching in 2012 maybe 1 person in a class would even admit to sometimes reading a book. Most of them would say either "I used to love to read, but now I never do anymore" (not necessarily an uncommon thing in different eras of your life, tbf!) or "I've never finished a book in my life." Usually no one, or maybe 1 or 2, would say they actively liked reading. Booktok has 100% changed this in a way that booktube and bookstagram never did. Being snobbish about what teenagers read and why is pointless. Young people finding joy in reading is purely a good thing and the why and the what shouldn't matter.

[mctayy]

Millennial here. Didn't pick up a book and finish it in probably 10 years and got intrigued because of tik tok. Already read 23 books this year and thanks to booktok my TBR has 75 more books on it to read.

[hershey]

I absolutely identify as a reader just as a I identify as a runner. My hobbies are what fulfills me, so I incorporate them into who I am.

[bats]

the funny thing about the intro article is that book collectors have always been into aesthetic over reading. That's why perfectly preserved 1700s first editions sell for thousands but can lose value if they aren't in pristine condition.

[Ifmdvjgoo]

The only problem I have with booktok is how it highly romanticizes abuse and toxic relationships. Young teens reading books glorifying horrible men as the 'dark, brooding type' could be really damaging.

[milkteamachine]

My main problem with booktok (and booktube) is that it’s SO focused around consumerism. I’ve read a ton of books, nowadays I hardly own any. I go to the library or buy them used, I’ve never taken a photo of myself reading. I don’t think having fun reading is bad, but I definitely think that collecting and displaying books and actually reading them are two very different hobbies. I’ve participated in both, and having 100+ unread novels on my shelf was when I was actually reading the least of them.

[amaya]

As a kid I WAS a bookworm until school kind of ruined reading for me. Reclaiming that title helps me rebuild the habit and joy of reading, and even nurture my inner child. These critics scoffing at people who identify as "readers" has personally been an obstacle to that. I can only speak for myself in certainty but I don't think I could possibly be the only one who feels this way

[gailcbull]

Full disclaimer: I'm a Gen X. What I find odd about the criticism of Booktok-ers being "readers" and making being a reader a part of your identity is that this has been a state of affairs since long before the internet (even before TikTok). When I was in high school in the '90s -- yes, I'm old -- there were always the people who carried a novel with their school books from class to class, and the ones who didn't. And the ones who always had a novel with them and read for pleasure were known as "readers". Funny, that. And readers didn't just shop for books, we shopped for cool bookends and bookcases so we could display our books. Some of us even carried tote bags stamped with the logo of our favourite bookstore or library and carried our library cards in plastic covers outside our backpacks and bags to advertise our "reader aesthetic". Classic romance readers even had their own trend of t-shirts that said "Mrs. Darcy" or "Mrs. Heathcliff" to make fun of themselves for having crushes on fictional characters. So long before e-books, long before the internet, and long before Booktok, there were readers who wore their reader aesthetic as a lifestyle.

So I'd just like to ask the author of that GQ article: "How long have you been living under a rock?"

[theres_no_guarantees]

On the note of overconsumption, I feel as if something that booktok kinda "sleeps on" is buying books used. As someone who works in a thrift store, you would not believe how many books we throw out every day. There are ways to consume and keep on buying books, but not promote waste. Like buy overstock copies, things from local thrift shops, from your library, from local bookstores, etc. Just be mindful!

[ceycey]

I don’t understand people that complain about others making their bookshelves ‘aesthetic’: it’s part of your house, of course you’d want it to look pretty😭