As social media becomes more popular and influential for teens, videos on TikTok and Instagram known as “BookTok” videos incite more teen reading. Studies show that 59% of young adults ages 16-25 claim that BookTok caused them to discover their love of reading.

One in five, or 19% of users, of BookTok share that the use of BookTok hashtags under posts that interested them led to the uncovering of a community. Additionally, 16% of users claim that they have formed new friendships because of BookTok. English teacher Ms. MacKenzie Blank sees how these communities can help students find a supportive community.

“You have the sense of community even if your best friends at school aren’t reading the same books as you, there is someone out there who is and you can kind of connect with them that way,” Ms. Blank said. “I think that it’s just taken a lot of pressure off. It’s become more like a relaxed and social activity, instead of something that’s individual or isolated.”

Around 2008, there was an increase in literacy rates, and as time passed, the rates increased. In 2024, on average, 79% of citizens 15 years and older are literate in the United States. This means that about four in five adults are considered literate. Literacy rates continue to rise as time passes.

“I think there are certain aspects that are better with the students that read. They have better grammatical conventions, so just their knowledge of language is a little bit better,” Ms. Blank said. “But also they come to class and are more open to the assignments and readings offered in the course. So even if they’re not maybe scoring better on a test, they have a better time in the class, in terms of just their own enjoyment.”

Similarly to Ms. Blank, Librarian Ms. Shawna Wilson has seen the effects of BookTok on students. More students are checking out more books, which increases the book flow of the library.

“I think that all the librarians in the district would say that our circulation is definitely up and we are seeing kids read again,” Ms. Wilson said. “We’re still trying to see if that is a lot from BookTok and kids being on social media, or if it’s just from not being able to do anything in class.”

Seeing how students who read understand the feelings of those around them helps in social-emotional learning situations where a complex understanding of feelings are involved. Ms. Wilson sees students who learned from books, and how they work with their peers.

“I feel like reading books gives you social-emotional learning skills, so it’s making you feel better about yourself, so you actually do better in class,” Ms. Wilson said. “It teaches you empathy, and we all need to be empathetic and sympathetic towards our peers and our family and our friends.”

Students who read also find opportunities to choose what they are consuming. Content on BookTok can be both misleading and inappropriate. This causes students to either look for more school appropriate books in the school library or to need to research the books before reading them.

Students who come to Ms. Wilson sometimes ask for books that the library does not carry due to content, so they must work with her to find the perfect match. Colleen Hoover’s, “It Ends With Us” went viral on BookTok, which influenced teenagers to go looking for it, however the library does not carry this book. When this happened, Ms. Wilson would look for books that are written with the same themes as the book the students were requesting.

“I feel like it’s really opened a new world. We have to balance what they’re telling us with what actually is real,” Ms. Wilson said. “So I think that you have to make sure it’s a balancing act. But I do feel like they have increased our kids’ reading, especially our young women.”

BookTok creates a way for people, such as teenagers and young adults, to discover new book recommendations. An article states that 55% of people on BookTok use the videos for book suggestions, while 68% say that they were encouraged to read a book they would not pick up otherwise. 

“I think that because of [BookTok], kids are just able to have more information on BookTok,” Ms. Blank said. “When they have this ginormous resource of people who are like them, who have read other things they’ve liked, your interests are aligned, it all seems more manageable”

The sharing of information and books creates a positive environment for students to foster their love of reading. As more teens read, there will be more opportunities created for growth and development in both their academic and social lives.

“I think that the impact overall is good because it does get [students] to read when they see other people their age taking the time to find a good book and be excited about it,” Ms. Blank said. “It’s more encouraging and if they are more encouraged to get into it, then they’re going to be more encouraged to realize that they might like it and continue to [read] for the rest of their life.”