With the rise of social media more trends have been popping up, such as reading as a hobby. Social media has always had an impact on those who use it and most trends come from outlets like TikTok. Reading for a hobby is not new like most trends. They are recycled like high waisted jeans, bows, and many other fashion eras.

Jennifer Lin ’(‘25) started reading when she was little and feels that social media has had a negative effect on reading.

“I feel like it definitely has [an impact], especially with Tik Tok and shorts, that 30 second attention span,it definitely plays a part. Social media itself kind of portrays books as something a nerdy person would do and it makes people get discouraged to read,” Lin said.

Social media has been known to reinforce stereotypes such as classifying reading as nerdy which is a determining factor in what is popular and what is not. This also leads to romanticism of certain topics that may not be normally seen as good.  

Soledad Baso (’‘27) started reading because of her dad and the trips that they would take to Barnes and nobles together.

“Social media has popularized a lot of books. I’m not exactly sure why some books get so popular. But once it travels down the chain, everyone reads it and just recommends it whether it’s good or not. It depends on the book like for Colleen Hoover, it’s been great for her. In terms of the content of her book, I don’t think it’s helped a lot of people very well,” Baso said.

Social media has helped many books get popular very quickly, many for good reasons and many for not so good reasons. It has also been a hotspot for up and coming authors trying to get their books seen. 

Piper McRaven ’(‘26) believes social media has a good impact on the reading community as it was what got her into reading.

“I think social media has honestly helped it because there’s a lot of things on social media that advertise reading and help people read because when you’re on social media, you just see a book and you think it’s good, and then it’ll influence people to start reading more,” McRaven said.

Social media has an impact on the lives of those who use it. Whether that is a positive impact or a negative impact truly depends on the content you see and how you use the platform. This goes for the book community as well as it not only helps authors but also helps readers find new genres.