Special Topics Paper - How Social Media Affects Readers Advisory

My ‘to be read’ pile was much smaller until I discovered a little corner of the world called ‘Bookstagram.’ For those who do not know, or who are unfamiliar with the ‘Bookstagram’ community, it is generally defined as an Instagram account solely dedicated to sharing book covers, book reviews, what the user is currently reading or has previously read, book clubs, discussions, etc. According to Google Trends, the term itself came about as early as 2004, but the hashtag didn’t appear or become popular until 2014 (Google Trends). I created my own bookstagram account at the end of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it feels as if I’ve stepped into a glorious community of fellow book lovers… but on social media.

According to a 2018 study published by the American Psychological Association, less than 20 percent of teens in the United States reported reading a book, magazine, or newspaper daily for pleasure; however, more than 80 percent of those same teens say they use social media every day (Sliwa, 2018). According to the Pew Research Center, 23% of adults said they haven’t read a book in whole or part of for 2021, whether in print or electronic or audio form (Gelles-Watnick & Perrin, 2021). In past Pew Research Center studies on social media, 84% of adults ages 18 to 29 say they use social media, with 71% being Instagram alone (Auxier and Anderson, 2021). As of February 28^th, 2023, there were 87 million posts currently using the hashtag ‘bookstagram’ on Instagram (Instagram, 2023).

It’s an interesting concept when you think about it, posing the question of how, and where, did we obtain book recommendations before social media? How did we expand and add to our to be read lists before social media existed? Did we receive our recommendations by carrier pigeons? Did we walk up to strangers on the street and say “Hi! I’m looking for a book to read. Can you recommend something?” Did we do something as crazy as go to our local libraries and spend hours browsing the shelves to see what caught our fancy? Carina Pereira, a writer for the popular BookRiot website (2021), said that she became a reader when she was nine years old. “I stumbled upon an adventure book at a cousin’s house, and I loved it so much, I stole it… I pretty much grew up without the internet, and I was usually the bookworm of my group. My perusing was very simple: I would go to the library, see what was available, and pick up what struck me as fun, or interesting.”

In addition to changing HOW readers are getting their recommendations, social media has also had another effect on readers in that it’s changing WHAT they’re reading. Social media has allowed readers to diversify their reading preferences while also changing the publishing industry and its demands. Most readers, whether they are consciously aware of it or not, tend to lean towards literature and books that are traditionally written by white men and women, and their stories typically feature straight, heterosexual characters. There was very little diversity in what readers were reaching for. Now, thanks to social media and sites like Goodreads, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook groups, Bookstagram, etc., readers are finding new authors and titles and genres to explore. Readers now want to see more books written by BIPOC authors, LGBTQIA+ authors, authors with disabilities, etc. They also want to see more reflection of those authors within the books themselves.

Social media has had a wide range of impacts on the reading community, particularly when it comes to readers advisory. Readers have seen their reading lists grow, and they’ve been able to discover new authors and titles they otherwise may not have known about. It’s allowing indie authors and those who publish primarily on Amazon or other independent sites to be discovered, and it’s paved the way for more diverse books to be read and talked about. Readers have been able to connect with their favorite authors and given the publishing industry a wider audience to promote and market to. Readers have also been able to simply fall back in love with the art of reading itself and to feel comfortable in what they’re reading while sharing and connecting with like-minded individuals. Simply put: there are more options available for readers advisory when it comes to answering the question, “What should I read next?”