For a long time, experts believed that with the rise of technology, reading would fall by the wayside–especially with the prominent decline in physical printed books. Yet, because of the power of social media, people’s love of reading has been revitalized once again.  

The printing of books has continued to decline, especially with the rise of portable tech. However, since 2021, there has been a 9% rise in the amount of books being purchased.

#BookTok deserves some praise for being a reason for the sudden uptick in reading. 

#BookTok is a hashtag on TikTok where creators are able to discuss books, give recommendations and review books. #BookTok has over 32.8 million videos circulating on it. Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million both have sections where readers can find the most popular books straight from #BookTok. 

Lauren Cohen, a sophomore Journalism major, is one of the many who use #BookTok.

 “I think #BookTok is definitely positive because it helps smaller authors reach larger audiences, it gives them more awareness,” Cohen says. “It has a lot of benefits for me because reading is a big part of my life and so I enjoy seeing it on my social media and connecting with other people about books.” 

To really showcase the power of #BookTok’s reach, just look towards Colleen Hoover’s success. Since Hoover became popular on #BookTok she has held six of the top 10 spots on The New York Times fiction bestseller list. One of Hoover’s most popular books, “It Ends With Us,” came out as a movie this year and starred Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, all with the help of the book’s circulation on #BookTok. 

“It has definitely taken over my For You Page,” Cohen says. “I actually really love watching other people’s reviews and seeing what they’re reading and what they think about it. I just think it’s really fun to hear their thoughts and what they’re reading.” 

Outside of #BookTok, we can look towards the resurgence of book clubs as a reason younger generations have begun reading more. Kaia Gerber, a popular Gen-Z model, has recently launched her book club called Library Science. “Books have always been the great love of my life,” Gerber says in an interview with The Guardian. “Reading is so sexy.” 

Reading isn’t only sexy, there are many benefits to frequent reading. Research conducted at the University of California, Berkeley found that reading strengthens the brain, delaying cognitive decline. It also can help relieve stress and improve concentration, memory and vocabulary. 

If you’re looking to get into reading, many books seem to be blowing up over social media. “I would recommend the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood,” Cohen says,  “I found that one from #BookTok and found [Ali Hazelwood] from #BookTok and she became one of my favorite authors.”