BookTok’s Rise to Fame During the Pandemic
The pandemic that has ensued as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 was a period of immense self-discovery and self-expression for many people. We’ve had so much time to spend with ourselves, which may have led to revelations about ourselves and our hobbies. However, while some people have a few positive outlooks when reflecting on the worldwide lockdowns, it’s undeniable that it was among the loneliest times in everyone’s lives.
Many learned the importance of social interaction, and thus we see the even further rise of influencers. Many people turned to their favorite content creators on apps such as Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, etc. as it is a more casual form of entertainment and has the atmosphere of listening to a friend talk.
In particular I want to focus on the steep rise of TikTok over the past few years. TikTok was undoubtedly a popular social media platform prior to the pandemic as it was Musical.ly before it was purchased and rebranded. But it really cemented itself as an essential platform during the lockdown because it allowed people to spend hours upon hours scrolling through 15 second videos and experience many different personalities.
Thus TikTok enables the formation of parasocial relationships between the viewer and the content creator. Many commenters will discuss the creator and their content as though they know them on a personal level. The lines between business and personal are incredibly blurred for everyone involved on the platform. The content creators may feel as though they are expected to be incredibly open and intimate with their followers, having to share personal details regarding themselves in order to please their audience. In terms of the viewer, it may be difficult to remember that content creation is now a full time job for many people, and they may feel entitled to certain things.
Nowadays the conversation surrounding parasocial relationships is typically designated for discussing social media content creators, and even celebrities. Yet, we can develop parasocial relationships anywhere. Another leading figure in enabling the formation of parasocial relationships is that of books (BBC Ideas).
Books are seen as an outlet for people who are feeling lonely, and over the span of the pandemic there was an incredible uptake in the demand for physical prints of books. This is in part due to the exponential rise of a sub-community on TikTok dubbed as “BookTok”, in which we see a powerful convergence of the two. Audiences can form parasocial relationships with their favorite creators, as well as with the characters from the books that said creator recommends. The New York Times discusses this powerful, yet unexpected pairing by illuminating the fact that “for publishers it has been an unexpected jolt: an industry that depends on people getting lost in the printed word is getting dividends from a digital app built for fleeting attention spans” (Harris).
Many of the top creators within this little community only started posting content during the lockdown, perhaps because they themselves were seeking some form of social interaction and having conversations about their favorite books may satisfy that need. And for some, the pandemic is what spurred them to explore their new interest in reading.
BookTok is primarily headed by young women using the app as an outlet to share their witty takes on their favorite books, or post a series of recommendations. This corner of the app also allows for conversations and debates pertaining to issues surrounding the literary community. There is plenty of space to discuss the severe underrepresentation of specific groups, problematic authors, and even the problematic habits of consumers. It creates a balanced stream of humorous media as well as more serious and thought-provoking concepts.
The growth of BookTok has become such an important staple in the literary world, that publishers and booksellers are starting to directly profit off of the app. If you were to walk into any bookstore right now, whether it’s a big company such as Barnes and Noble or your local indie bookstore, you will undoubtedly see an endcap or even an entire table dedicated to books that have risen to fame solely on TikTok. It is a direct result of these young influencers that this reach is possible.
Among the top content creators of BookTok, is a young woman named Ayman (@aymansbooks), who takes a more humorous approach to her content; even when discussing some of the more serious topics. In the age of Gen Z humor, which Ayman has nailed perfectly, she definitely takes on the role of influencer status seeing as though her humorous statements in a less than 15 second video can be all it takes for a viewer to go out and purchase the book. In fact, Ayman is primarily credited for the overwhelming success of V.E. Schwab’s novel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue; even receiving a shoutout from the author herself.
While there are many large creators on BookTok, I can definitely understand why Ayman has obtained the amount of followers she has. She actively goes against the social comparison theory; as she does not cause viewers to compare themselves up nor down to her, the viewer is her equal. While she is still in a position of influence, she is not shy about the fact that her biggest role on the app is that of the consumer, similarly to those watching her videos. She talks about how she is stuck in the grasp of other BookTok influencers as well, developing her “reading taste by just watching 1 fast moving image aesthetic video and picking up the book the same day.” Since Ayman bridges the gap between influencer and viewer, it even furthers the audience’s attachment. In portraying herself as an equal, Ayman is allowing for these feelings of friendships and mutual understanding; hence we see these formations of parasocial relationships.
In fact these types of videos mentioned in Ayman’s video are exactly what gives BookTok its power. Prior to the formation of this community, the standard audience for booksellers were those that were already avid fans of a particular genre. But as Kat McKenna, a marketing and brand consultant specializing in children’s and young adult books explains, “BookTok is exciting, with its short, entertaining videos bringing in a new, powerful opportunity to reach and engage non-readers, to create more book lovers” (Flood). The Guardian also touched upon this digital phenomenon, which they labeled as the “BookTok effect”, delving into the concept that “books are hyped on TikTok, and top best-selling charts soon after” (Touma).
On the other hand, BookTok has recently grown to be a fairly competitive community, creating a misconception that the amount of books you read in a month determines your enthusiasm and passion for reading. However, Ayman once again does not allow for the social comparison theory to take place. She does not make reading seem like a high strung activity. She instead highlights reading habits and bookish activities as a source of fun and entertainment; an activity for you to simply have fun with no overbearing responsibilities. Ayman is transparent about her own struggles with reading, revealing that she often has to remind herself that reading should not become a chore because of the pressures from social media.
Ayman’s platform definitely appeals to a much broader audience in this sense, specifically those who may be intimidated by the reading community which can be notorious for being pretentious and high brow. She creates a comfortable atmosphere for young readers to discuss their favorite books and authors without the judgemental eyes of others. She has amassed a following of people who just have fun reading whatever it is they are interested in whether it be the classics, fantasy, romance, nonfiction, etc.
The viewers trust Ayman as they would a friend: recommending books, ranting about plot lines and the construction of characters, and pointing out little annoyances that come with the act of being a fanatic reader. And in the time of the pandemic, having such a mindset very well may have helped a lot of people survive through the extremely lonely and isolated hours. But at the same time, whether or not a creator chooses to be transparent on social media, we still don’t know them on a personal level. We have to maintain our boundaries and limit our formation of these kinds of relationships to protect both ourselves as viewers, but also the creators as well.
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Works Cited
BBC Ideas. (2019). How Stories Shape Our Minds | The Science of Storytelling | Bbc Ideas. YouTube. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyZMSZG2Dmk&t=1s.
Flood, A. (2021, June 25). The rise of BookTok: Meet the teen influencers pushing books up the charts. The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/25/the-rise-of-booktok-meet-the-teen-influencers-pushing-books-up-the-charts
Harris, E. A. (2021, March 20). How crying on TikTok Sells books. The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/books/booktok-tiktok-video.html
Touma, R. (2021, November 16). ‘it is surreal’: The five-second book reviews going viral on TikTok. The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/17/it-is-surreal-the-five-second-book-reviews-going-viral-on-tiktok
