TikTok is Saving Reading

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[@Andrea-oj6fz]

Actually, I found my love for books through booktube, and I'm grateful for that. For kids who don't have books at home when they grow up, social media can be a real door opener that inspires them to read books, fall in love with them and discuss them.

[@johnlastname8752]

There are people that has no books in their home!?

[@sweetestaphrodite]

@@johnlastname8752Well… when your parents don’t read, how are you going to have books in your home?

[@nouhailalaouina]

That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking. People should not drag others for reading Colleen Hoover books because that’s actually a good start they may not be of a good quality but they definitely serve a purpose which is to get people into reading. I mean most of us readers have gone through a Wattpad phase and while it doesn’t really count as reading it got us to where we are today.

[@theartsycalligrapher3510]

I agree. Primarily due to social media people read for the "aesthetic" purposes, but nevertheless it is still better than mindless scrolling. Furthermore I disagree with when people slander others for the reason/books they read. If it brings them joy, it is not in the position of others to get annoyed.

[@effpng]

while i’m glad TikTok is producing more people to read (specifically young adults), i do think it’s worth mentioning that the criticism of Colleen Hoover is necessary. like actual proper criticism of the way she portrays toxic/unhealthy romantic relationships across her books. those conversations are necessary, because while some people (me included) read for pleasure that pleasure should exist alongside being a critical consumer. what is the messaging in this story? who is targeted for? who does can it harm? etc.

[@effpng]

@@theartsycalligrapher3510 depends on what you mean by slander, but if a book is containing concerning messaging it *should* have critical conversations around it. especially with booktok influencers. it’s no longer a singular reading experience when you are reaching thousands of people with a book.

[@Progress234]

I think Wattpad reading does count. Sure some books weren't as poetic, however, many books had amazing story line and we shouldn't just disregard it just because the story was published there

[@Jhet]

Colleen Hoover is terrible because it romanticizes abuse. That's not cool in any sense, especially for younger readers.

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

I kind of blame school ruining my reading experience. Before book reports I would read whatever I got my hands on. However, as soon as I had book reports starting in grade 3 I started to hate reading. I think kids should not have to do book reports until maybe mid grade 6 when they are starting to prepare for high school. But until then just enjoy the adventure of reading!

[@AshAirheart1995]

Blame ur self u sound like u can't buckle down and take responsibility

[@HiTechRedneck]

Similar experience, but with Accelerates Reader instead of book reports. I definitely understood why AR was a thing, most of my classmates would’ve never opened a book if they didn’t have to for a grade, but I was one of those kids that enjoyed reading and would’ve been reading regardless. However, making it something we had to do for a grade, just made it another homework assignment for me. I actually read more when it finally stopped being required my senior year, because it was something I wanted to do, not something I was required to do for a test grade in English. When it was required I found myself just reading the one or two books I needed to get my points for the 6 weeks and that was it, but when they were no longer required, I was reading constantly.

[@Eyuel_G]

​@@AshAirheart1995Your conclusion is flawed. Them hating reading because of book reports, does not have anything to do with not being able to take responsibility. In fact, it's actually the opposite that seems to be the source of the problem. Maybe you were projecting, since you seem to be lacking the attention to detail that would come to develop with reading for some assignment.

[@recarsion]

School is great at ruining activities that could be fun. I still to this day hate exercise and I only recently realized that it's because mentally I still equate it with PE class, and now I have to somehow make sports fun again so it doesn't take what feels like a heroic effort to get off my ass and be active regularly. And that made me also realize that others probably struggle with the same in different areas. I never understood how someone can hate math for example, but I realized it must be hell sitting in a math class if you aren't talented in it by default innately, I guess I always knew this but haven't really empathized with it until I figured out that I'm basically still suffering the consequences of the same thing in another way. Basically school makes us hyper-specialize and hyper-focus on what we're already good at instead of tackling our weaknesses and making us more well rounded people, and you don't really realize or question that (at least I didn't) until adulthood, but by then it's super difficult to retroactively re-wire your brain.

[@WildPrimal23]

@@AshAirheart1995your understanding is quite limited

[@gottadasha]

I strongly believe that booktok and booktube are overall a net positive for the literary world. The challenges, tags, and conversations people create around novels are more widespread than they every have been. Discussions are diverse and easily accessible. Anyone can comment on a book or see what others think of it. Also, there's a newfound sense of community around authors and creators in the booktok/booktube spheres.

[@gottadasha]

I am an avid reader and booktube/booktok consumer. I used to read constantly as a child but I have only started falling back in love with reading last year because of social media.

[@Shawnpups]

Great video! As someone in the publishing industry, I'm glad to hear that people are becoming more aware of the draining effects of social media and actively seeking out more fulfilling pastimes like reading. Good for my work, good for publishers, good for civilization.

[@Piyush2003m]

I really like your indirect strategy to make reading themed videos so once you gain an audience interested in reading books you can leverage that in your new startup which is also related to book reading. Glad that your passion reflects in all forms of work!

[@probablybrian5460]

You're 100% correct. If we've entered a social media age, what other forms of media could bring reading back? Certainly books aren't going to influence a generation to start reading if they're no longer reading. Same with movies that are based off of books. The first book I read that got me into reading was a book I had seen a movie for which was the only reason I decided to read it.

[@jennifermarea8011]

I try to make sure that I spend more time reading each day than I do on social media. I think it’s the perfect act of rebellion as long as you don’t pay for the books. There’s no ads, no sponsorships, it’s a 100% free form of entertainment with a library card.

[@AmandaJYoungs]

I agree with everything you say here. Reading is brilliant. I think the difference is that you have to engage actively with the book in order to read, whereas you simply receive in audiovisual formats (although audiobooks are doing very well and expanding fast).

[@effpng]

you can also engage actively with an audiobook especially the ones with a full cast narrating the book!!

[@tarasaurus24]

I really wonder if people are actually reading more due to tiktok or are they simply buying more books which end up being left on a shelf forever never opened

[@zelpazz]

It's still a step in the right direction. I don't think people buy books just to have them on their shelf that would be very much a waste of money they could have bought for makeup or videogames. So it is clear their intentions are that they truly want to read these books they bought it's just that sometimes people just don't find the time to read them and many other explanations. How fast one reads or how many books one reads dosen't define how much of a "true" reader you are. If you believe this you are just an entitled gate keeper that no one thinks are fun at parties let's be honest here.

[@mier_inc]

Man these last two videos gave me such valuable insights.

[@Hillary429]

I’ve always thought that since reading is such an isolated hobby we are drawn to discuss our experiences with others. This used to be in the form of book clubs with friends, then watching Oprah on tv, and now it’s BookTube and BookTok.

[@Koplinet]

I agree completely. I feel drained by social media and I am resorting to the moderate, self-guided pace of books to ground myself again.

[@LizApizaa]

This is so real. I have been an avid social media user for the past 10 years. After discovering bookish content during lockdown, it rekindled my love for books. Now my social media consumption is at an all-time low and the only content I consume is extremely bookish.

[@HabiasaDeveloper]

As software developer and having portable computer I check every 5 minutes, I couldn't read books focused and efficient. I'm glad you've mentioned Audible in 2021. Listening to audio books is kind of my thing. Now I'm at Scholar level

[@flavius91]

Or you could stop checking your phone every 5 minutes?

[@HabiasaDeveloper]

@@flavius91 good point. I've been trying to do this for over 2 years now. Disabling Facebook, TikTok, and instagram or leaving only 5 minutes of usage every day just to make myself able to check on important things. And my point of that comment was not fully clear. Every time I try to read books, my eyes get blurred and words just move around. Looking at the screen makes me comfortable but at the same time gets hurt if I forget to use pomodoro to keep my eyes rest. As a software engineer, it's difficult to deal with these. And I found myself conformable listening to audio books instead of reading. Oh my gosh I can't even listen to loud songs. Audible is such a perfect app for me. Thanks for reading 🤗

[@anothersmallpotatopassingb8167]

Hey dude it seems that your videos don’t do as well as they used to but i just wanted to express the quality gain: the research, the structure of the argument and the way you express it, all of them have really gained in quality and i thought it was important for you to know

[@Pencilman246]

The problem with TikTok and reading is that TikTok saps your attention span. When I used Tiktok, I started reading many books and didn’t finish any of them. I had to train myself to focus again after deleting the app. The problem with booktok in my opinion is that it gives you that dopamine good feeling that books give you, makes you feel like “I’m a reader” without you actually putting the time and energy and focus into actually reading anything. It’s the same as the people who buy books but never read them. Although hopefully what you’re saying is true and people are encouraged to read via Tiktok. I just think the two mediums are counter to each other.

[@anitabrayco]

We forget the time on social media. That's really bad. Read is so much better.

[@avneesh6299]

John, I followed your recommendation for Project Hail Mary and it changed my life so much! Please make more book ‘reviews/recommendation’ or ‘books I read this month’ type of videos!!

[@hay_bail1]

It’s so hard to find well written, actually good books now a days though, books that aren’t Wattpad esque romance.

[@LizApizaa]

No, I think there are great literary books out there being released every month. You just have to look for it beyond the over-saturated romance booktok content. I recommend Jack Edwards as a starting point for better recommendations.

[@antidelusionalpeeps]

​@@LizApizaaI think people are complaining about genre fiction. It's easy to find well-written literary books, but good luck finding a romance, sci fi, fantasy or thriller book with amazing writing.

[@joseperez-ig5yu]

Hey John, it's been a while since I've seen you. I was pleasantly surprised to see your video on my YT feed. It's always good when people expand their horizons by reading books. Social media gives people instant gratification so they really don't have to expend too much of their energy as they might have to on books. I'm a slow reader, so it takes me forever to finish a book. Be that as it may, I still think that reading a book is very enjoyable.😊

[@MissesMarble]

Very well put!

[@stevensong8784]

I like how you mentioned reading book is concentrated and slow, but getting squeezed doesn't feel good. there's difference between reading online and in print. p.s. I wish I can bookshelved was on mobile app. phones are distracting but it can be time saving.

[@harribendi]

Put e-ink tablet on shelf. Black-white (more like dark gray and ivory white) helps to concentrate. Brain imagining fills the otherwise boring dull gaps. As you are reading, or better yet, writing or drawing, your brain makes more vivid connections on the background compared to having literal vivid visuals in front. I hypothesize that brain needs vivid visuals. If one can't see vivid colors directly, brain starts imaging to 'fill the gaps'. Difference is that vivid external visuals stay there for longer for brain to continuously process, shutting down 'internal gap filling', whereas reading, writing or drawing by hand is always slower than imagination. This means that whatever static is on the canvas, preferably black and white, is more as encoding and compression, a set of sparse triggers, something only imagination can complete and connect. Thus, to understand, to make sense of what you have in front of you, to subconsciously compare with anything beyond that session itself, imagination is a must, a much needed assumption during reading, writing or drawing. However, this needs focus, mostly silence and being free of daily worries. It is so easy to hijack brain. Literal visuals are usually more effective triggers. *** I believe [ TV vs Book ] is subject to disjunction and conjunction, where TV is the disjunctive dominant. Let me explain. Being subjected to external attention grabbers as arguments X1 and X2, where X2 comes after X1 on timeline, results in the following primary target of attention: 1. (TV) V (Book) = TV 2. (TV) V (TV) = TV 3. (Book) V (TV) = TV 4. (Book) V (Book) = Book --- Thus, in family of 4 in small housing with only TV and book to distract from daily: 1. Dad is in TV. Mom is in book. Son and daughter get distracted by TV. They also start watching TV. 2.Dad and mom both watch TV. Sounds make it difficult to concentrate on reading. Kids will join. 3. Same as [ 1. ] but mom and dad roles are reversed. Kids still hooked to TV screen. Standing too close to screen as well. 4. Both parents read in silence. No radio. No TV. Nobody dears to breaks the silence. To kill boredom, kids also tend to reading. --- Conclusion: It takes only one member of the family, one of the group in audible range, to turn on TV or radio to distract one or many other trying to focus on less vivid input. *** Extra bit: As for writing or drawing, it is author oneself who can fully decode and organically extend it, as if with sort of capacity to create 'infinity scroll flow' (as long as canvas permits and eyes stays open). Becoming professional in those endeavours makes their output so engaging for the audience that the latter can't take their minds off of it - their minds have been ramped up to fill the gaps on the fly, letting author's work to guide their imagination, like piece of art giving them a lift above their daily errands. *** In case you made this far, remember: " Book is a distraction that enriches. TV is distraction that entrenches. "

[@MarkIsero]

I like what you’re saying here - especially the hope that you have. Thank you.

[@Dan75776]

i recently got back into reading with American prometheus after watching Oppenheimer, i seriously forgot how good it is for you mentally.

[@wilmerurena8424]

John i have been watching you since 2018 and I finally got into reading this summer. Going to read don quixote in the near future thanks to your recommendation

[@sophiaonyoutube]

I always recommend reading to my friends but they always tell me they don't have the time to read anymore, yet they always have time for social media. It's sad

[@alansteyrbach6926]

Book sales are driven up by 4 points: - better marketing and hyping-up among publisher and bookcover designers - more children being born annually and becoming literate later - immigration and immigrants' general consumption of everything, including books - digitalization makes physical things, including books, a unique and special experience Not all bought books are being read or finished. I have over 45 books I've bought in the last 4 years that I've read only by 15-25%. They are amazing and good, but still hard to finish. Researching articles and unique pieces of obscure knowledge online is much more interesting, as well as reading your own thoughts in the notes like Obsidian or Notion. As well as systematizing the stuff you've found or read.

[@kendraa8289]

I’ve definitely started reading more books casually bc of tiktok

[@Trushaggyful]

You’ve been my favorite KZbinr for years bro keep it up

[@danielmateus102]

I do feel squiced by KZbin and I miss the older version where I could see what I wanted and not what they want.

[@HiTechRedneck]

This makes a lot of sense. I know I’ve definitely read books I might not have otherwise because I heard people talk about them on TikTok or social media. Also geeked out a bit seeing The Lincoln Highway on that screws recording, read it a year or so ago and absolutely loved it! Great video!

[@sfdko3291]

COMIC BOOKS are huge on tiktok Displaying the art and giving a small synopsis of the plot is really helping out graphic novels. The slideshow feature is amazing.

[@emmanuel_simphiwe]

Beautiful intro. Absolutely 💡

[@armankhondker]

I work as a software engineer at TikTok and I geuinely think that BookTok has made my friends and I read more targetted/valuable books over the past 2 years. I can personally say from a dev perspective that BookTok is one of the insider trends we heavily monitor/push via our recommendation algo. Happy to say TikTok has had at least one positive impact 😭

[@-..._._-.]

Literally a "are we the baddies?" Moment😭

[@armankhondker]

@@-..._._-. lmao

[@Reptanimalposts]

Reading with a good balance of productive tv is good for thensoul.

[@cardireddigits]

If someone gives you compressed content we don't have an opportunity to compress it ourselves.

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

The big books when I was growing up was Goosebumps, The Hardy Boys, Captain Underpants. I am trying to read for pleasure again. I am reading Goosebumps The Scarecrow Walks at Midnight. I thought I would start slow lol.

[@lamjin9519]

he’s back! great video

[@recarsion]

Ngl John you immediately sold me on bookshelved just by showing Stormlight Archive and the Three Body Problem lmao

[@SvenKjellEbenStian]

I feel like you are the missing link for male readers. You explain things so well. You are fun to listen to. Because books and reading them have something very personal. For the readers who have a hard time choosing a good book, I think you have the platform here to guide them. I would love to see you make series like, which top 10 thrillers, biographies, horror, forgotten books, rereadable books ect..

[@navodeepdeka1042]

Any social Media even TikTok, depends upon the society we live in

[@weird-guy]

But are they reading more or buying more books? Imo there’s a difference because social media promotes consumption i don’t use tiktok but a have a few books and think I didn’t read even 5%. Also target audience might be former bookworms that found the love for books again on KZbin most books recommend are self help or how to be rich/successful type of book. Idk

[@LL-wu5ui]

Ad after ad after ad after ad

[@garad123456]

Book sales had been going up since 2012, slowly, and then the pandemia years peaked it. I'm not sure how much booktok has affected it, surely a bit but there must be other factors too to the graph

[@milotic2173]

I have always loved this side of KZbin

[@JustAnotherYoYoEr]

Amazing reflexion, but the fact that you didn't interview or even mention the internet's resident librarian Jack Edwards feels criminal 😂

[@tiramisufm]

I just found a library and I have been able to pick up books, so far im reading a book about how our brains create maps and climate change

[@swayamkediavlogs1787]

John Fish Please tell all the resources used by you to learn CS.

[@HabiasaDeveloper]

He's back. 2 vidoes in a week

[@goatpepperherbaltea7895]

I don’t think I’ve read a book since the 7th grade 😂 I plan on reading soon

[@effpng]

have fun!!

[@schwaar]

Wow I'm desperate to get into Bookshelved!

[@soowan]

love this viewpoint!

[@elitefusion750]

I love this reading novels. It's very therapeutic and relaxing. What books are we all reading right now? I'm reading: "In the Dark" by Mark Billingham.

[@blackofspace6982]

I am reading The Song of Achilles rn

[@effpng]

i’m reading four books currently!! 1) The Fault In Ours Stars by John Green 2) Beach Read by Emily Henry (re-read!!) 3) Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford 4) Kiss Her Once For Me by Allison Cochrun

[@HiTechRedneck]

I just finished Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica last night and really enjoyed it. I just started Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell , but am only on the second chapter so far, sounded good though.

[@elitefusion750]

@@effpng Immediately recognized John Green because I read one of his book "Paper Towns" like 3 times ha! You just reminded me to add The Fault in Our Stars into my TBR

[@maiteestanga7367]

Hey John! Do you have a public reading list where you put all the books you’ve read?

[@avneesh6299]

I want this too!

[@Guulu-l8d]

Is it possible that the impact of the epidemic alone has increased people’s willingness to buy books?

[@baberkhanbk]

Reading books is better for remembering and building concepts. Not the case for me, i am a visual learner and i find it easy to learn doing practical work and seeing how things work. Like for example learning how to drive a car, learning how fix things, breaking things up and building them from strach. And programming is similar to that. The point is everyone has grown up with different environments and it shapes you.

[@manueurope]

As a 17 yo , I used to hate Social media actually, but once I realized what I really liked,(not trends or things other ppl do ) I searched them through on social media, And good thoughts, good recommendations came to me , I changed, and my whole pov change into positive, Remember if you use a knife correctly ,it never gonna harm you

[@leighsymons5619]

I've been pondering this same question. Will we see people turn their back on SM. I'm 40 and have had FB, Twitter, Inst, Reddit, they're now all gone mostly because I no longer, funnily enough, have the will nor the attention span to deal with these platforms anymore.

[@amj864]

Ice cream so good Yum gang gang Ice cream so good (Im the pessimist)

[@advityarajsingh]

Bro this data doesn't show that how many people have stopped reading books after influenced by the social media influencers this data just show they have bought the books but not finishing the book. That is the biggest flaw of this data

[@Fasansola]

Thanks for sharing a content like this.

[@Katisverycool]

I found my love for reading when reading mangas and wattpads lmao

[@chardelraconner7324]

bic bic puck puck

[@R.rmar21]

In fact, TikTok has made people so addicted to watching short clips that they can't even sit down for a few minutes to read a book.

[@bobby3814]

Nor can they listen to a story told by their own father, without zoning out in the middle of it.

[@beausciberras2605]

Amazing

[@yotameinat8545]

Well, this was very hope giving to watch

[@tagberli]

got my attention squeezed out again :P

[@fans4834]

I believe the main driver of book sales in the past three years is COVID, not social media. You can see in the chart that book sales started to increase in 2020 when COVID broke out. COVID makes people spend more time at home reading than going out.

[@camerong00dman]

Very well put

[@emirhan3860]

i love your videos.

[@blogyun]

Hello John Fish release more books videos

[@cardireddigits]

kinda like long format podcasts. Nobody saw that coming.

[@NadiaGladys]

Funny enough, that is exactly what I did. When 45 was elected and there was so much dis/misinformation, I deleted all of my social media and rediscovered my love for reading. Reading books deepened my analysis, logical reasoning, and agency. It helped me to make sense of the world around me. And when I am not reading the "heavy stuff" laughing out loud to modern-day novels and seeing parts of myself or friends in books increased my imagination for new possibilities. Reading is an experience, one that takes time, focus, and attention. Turning pages > scrolling.

[@aq6536]

This video was a great motivator for why I should take my lazy bum to the library and start reading :D

[@susanfish283]

I really liked this video xo Mom

[@ezzz2d]

drop the reading list

[@James-mk8jp]

Neil Postman is The Man

[@angelachen6123]

Such insightful content

[@asea1203]

No, it's killing reading. Just because it's driving up book sales doesn't mean it's good for reading and writing. It has drove down the quality of reading in only a couple of years and inserted kind of a "addictive " quality to newly written books.

[@antidelusionalpeeps]

Thank you. Tiktok is killing good literature. People don't know what a great book is anymore and will give the highest rating for the shittiest books. Booktok is a worse version of 2012 Wattpad, because at least Wattpad writers didn't pretend to be authors and didn't monetize their crappy stories. Tiktok as a whole is killing everything anyway imo.

[@Rrr-mw3kb]

Well this is because reading is often considered *aesthetic*

[@MDobri-sy1ce]

It’s sad that by my sister’s kids are teenagers they are going to have an attention span of a goldfish!

[@khantsithu4383]

Can I have beta access to bookshelved?

[@brauliopineda5753]

Sucha a greate video!

[@ufomechanic11]

Great great video

[@Fivetimesthree]

So Hamza Yusuf coded

[@ysidrogalaviz]

Moral of the story: You can’t trust the system.

[@aaatt268]

Let people read what they want. But what if glorifies abuse (Colleen hoover) , colonialism, white supremacy, and sexual abuse (Sarah J Maas)? I just hope people will widen their reading list instead of sticking to the same old sexy fae stories (don't get me wrong, I'm a primarily fantasy reader) and read things of substance. Because otherwise you're just living on chips. And broadening of genre helps a reader make their way out of the bad ones and realize what works best for them.

[@vasilisthemelis9017]

Could it be just COVID?

[@taske195]

I was a gamer for almost 10 years, and one day I woke up and realized that I can't play them anymore, that I'm sick of them, that my life has no point because I play video games for 12 hours a day. I turned off social media, and stopped playing games, but suddenly I realized that I had too much extra time. I decided to read books. It was difficult at first, I would read a few pages in a book and realize that I didn't know what I had read. I realized that I have attention deficit disorder, which I didn't have before. I decided to continue reading books compulsively, I read them out loud because I understood that way and I remember what I read better. After a few months I started reading them silently in my mind, I realized that I no longer had attention deficit disorder, and that my imagination had returned. I also started riding a bike and doing home exercises, because I remember what my grandfather used to tell me - "In a healthy body, a healthy mind." Of the social networks, today I only use Tumblr for half an hour a day, because I love art and goodreads. I even use KZbin less and less, I mostly use it to listening music. I apologize for any grammar mistakes if I made them, English is not my native language. Greetings to all good people!

[@AarnavDasari]

i just created an account in goodreads lol

[@swymaj02]

I now listen to audiobooks since they're easier to digest. That is still reading, right?

[@jacquiheywood3142]

It's listening.

[@HiTechRedneck]

I consider it reading, after all, you’re still absorbing the content, just in a different way. I’ve never been able to focus with audiobooks myself, but I’m glad that they’re a benefit for so many. As long as it works for you, it’s not anyone else’s business.

[@luke.e123]

Saving

[@Gargee_Paul]

Ur Frndypie Vocabulary

[@dudpktz]

You need a haircut 💈 just kidding, love your vids

[@joseperez-ig5yu]

John has gorgeous hair!😊

[@faisalsalik5595]

people shouldn't even be on tiktok lol

[@sararahmani-ey6sd]

👍🏻👏🏻

[@anwaralemseged7884]

Anyway hi fish am from ethiopa

[@gotmilk1331]

You’re reaching on this one, John.