Is this TikTok community ruining literature? | The Stream

[@hegzneptune7327]

Guess what? If you ignore it completely, it doesn't ruin anything...I still read whatever I want, whenever I feel like it.

[@lemon1657]

Exactly, I never heard about it and I'm not going to watch this. Social media can be easily turned off 😂

[@kria9119]

So true. I just went to a huge book fair and yes, these Tik Tok books have a massive following of the younger generation that actually uses Tik Tok, but other books are being bought and read as well, by everyone.

[@raina2319]

😂😂 me too. I follow some people for recommendations of new books but mostly I just pick something from the library

[@HashFier]

Yes, but it has ruined local in-person book meetups for me. One booktoker said one day during a review, "If I'm paying an author for their book, I want a payoff and adrenalin high every 10 pages." Let that entitlement sink in.

[@priyap9358]

Exactly

[@katsmith8263]

I'm not on ticktock. But i 've read a book that I wanted to read for 20 years yesterday because of Instagram book influencers. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@thekeywitness]

BookTok is probably great for young women who love escapist fiction, but it’s negatively impacting what gets shelf space in bookstores. Many male readers can’t find the books they want to read because romance, etc. is hogging shelf space. Moreover, publishers are less likely to take a chance on books for men because they think it won’t sell. Male readers are being deprived and discouraged by this trend.

[@nirajsolanki8725]

That was a great conversation. I think people tend to read no matter what is currently being used to promote books. I love the reading community, where despite some occasional heated conversations, people still know how to carry on a polite, mindful discussions. (Much like this one 👍).

[@Icewagner98]

I genuinely don’t understand the point of having a panel without any dissenting opinions. Ironically this was just about as much of an echo chamber as the actual community itself is.

[@HashFier]

This is a promotion thinly veiled as a discourse.

[@sedecim]

Never heard of it and don't really care. As a gen X- which no one ever talks about, I have never used x or tiktok and don't care. I am a English major and I have read and read when I want to. Period.

[@frostkiss2]

Booktok isn't ruining literature or do you see a Crime & Punishment novel catch fire whenever someone is reading a Romantasy?

[@SudAbbas]

Teenage boys are reading fewer and fewer books. It's not hard to see why: Walk into a book store and you'll find that Romantacy has flooded the genre fiction section. Genre fiction is supposed to be a gateway to higher literature. It is meant to be the first step of a lifelong journey. But this is a journey many boys will never embark on. I shudder to think of how many great works of literature will now never be written, simply because a lucrative fad squeezed out half the reading public.

[@frizzyrascal1493]

The general public does not care about the male (straight) gender. Otherwise young male suicide numbers wouldn’t be so insanely high, young males would fare better in public school and the prisons wouldn’t be so full. This whole booktok thing also advertises young adult novel relationships as something healthy, when more often than not, they’re just toxic.

[@mercury5136]

@SudAbbas There are plenty of general fiction books that are out there lol. The fact that romantasy books are popular doesn't take away from that. They might not be trending on social media, but if you really care to find them, they are out there.

[@NotSoEntertaining.]

Young boys aren’t reading because they want to play video games. There’s millions of books to choose from, stop making excuses for them.

[@johndebold1074]

What a terribly short sighted and destructive argument

[@yaszit2210]

I believe that Booktok/BookTube allows for under represented books/authors to be seen. I've found more books and discovered new reads from Black authors by Black Booktubers. Now if the algorithm would make it easier to find black and brown Booktubers that would be great. For every one black/brown Booktuber I find, the algorithm recommends 2-4 non-POC booktubers. This needs to stop.

[@runningcommentary2125]

I love how Al Jazeera is now making videos about this.

[@nicholas.j.w]

Very balanced opinions. I actually REALLY appreciated Al Jazeera covering this. Thank you for the great content! 🙌

[@littleprince12]

Nerdier younger women? Ouch.

[@matthewmurray7428]

Ashling should check out David Graeber's "BS Jobs". It's so good. I still need to read "Debt".

[@FaroukElHage]

TikTok must stopt to exist

[@areebahmad3175]

We cant start deciding whats right for the people and when? Oh Lady should we then remove the PG and rated R and above 18 and all that stuff? Like just forget about it and let the children watch all the stuff they are not supposed to? I mean these are young teenagers we are talking abour here.

[@starstriker1881]

Sony xm4 headphone works fine on call conversation it seemed. Back to topic, never really bother what was promoted, because its skewed to a very niche genre/category that i am not interested. There are much bigger circle in book interest out there, a shame these new gen might not have known engrossed into tiktok alone

[@lavlor-rjj]

just dont follow it, than nothing will be ruined simple

[@pheonix-one]

Where have all the libraries gone? Why can we not see all the books in the national archives for free? Irony about controls - will this be a regulator for books like videos? Looks very big brother controlling what you read? Is this like the Middle Ages … Copernicus being persecuted for writing the earth is the centre of the universe. I’ve wasted 20 minutes of my life. But this is an advert for book talk.

[@StMikaila]

Absolutely.

[@Paulo-1999]

When you say literature, you put the whole community in one basket. This is bad journalism. Bad taste has always existed. So there are bad booktube channels or whatever you call that in other social media. But don't erase the good ones! Again, this is bad journalism. You are making generalization seeking clickbaits and by doing that you don't tell the whole truth. And when you do that, you're badically lying to the public. Tip: don't generalize, be specific in your criticism!

[@jonoshaa]

Such a non-topic.The high literature community gets so worked up about people enjoying their hobby for what?

[@accentontheoff]

“Literature”.

[@rhin]

hostess is cute lol

[@LethalBubbles]

no

[@Zofishanbintnoon]

Yes yes ! China should apologize to the world for this mess !

[@occasionalreader]

interesting

[@stopdeforestation]

That one guest slathered on the lipstick. Looks cringey

[@paraskevig.7667]

@@stopdeforestation cringey comment