Alix Earle is an extremely popular influencer with the Gen Z audience. Alix Earle started as a content creator on TikTok but recently has held more mainstream positions on television through her last season on Dancing With The Stars or her new reality show Earle Meets World. Earle told Interview Magazine recently that she has never read a book before. Her lack of literacy leads to the broader question of why we give platforms to certain people.
With over 8 million followers on TikTok, Earle has a huge impression on those on social media. Her main audience is women between the ages of 18-30, though some girls in middle school watch her content as well. It is not news that the amount of influence social media creators have on our lives is a problem. But Earle’s recent interview about not reading demonstrates why it’s who we are letting influence our lives matters.
In the interview, Earle was questioned about what was the last book she read. To this, she responded with the appalling answer that she has never read a book before.
“Like, maybe Dr. Suess,” Earle said.
Having not read since the elementary school level and having graduated college is not a great example to be setting for her majority young women audience. While it could be true that she said this for attention as a joke or to put up an “act”, it is clear that she has an impressionable audience and she should be hyperaware of what she is displaying of herself on the internet.
Her audience may see this then come to the conclusion that it’s cute to go to college and not learn or they may gather that reading is not as crucial as it is in actuality. Either way, it does not give off strong leader energy.
Furthermore, this is specifically true because we are in a time of a literacy crisis in young adults. The National Assessment of Educational Progress found in 2024 that 12th graders’ reading scores had lowered in levels since their report in 2019. Additionally, due to systemic and economic inequalities along with several other factors, 45 million American adults lack the ability to read fully. Thus, in today’s time, it is a privilege to be able to read anything, let alone a book, rather than a fundamental human right. So setting the precedent that it’s okay to not read is disgustingly out of touch, especially given that she has a full college education.
At the minimum, reading is necessary for everyday tasks, to obtain jobs, gather information, and improve brain power or imagination. Reading is something we use every day, and it’s unbelievably important to daily function in society. We must begin to become critical of who we allow to have large social platforms because we need to think about those who may be more impressionable. Like it or not, influencers and content creators make a difference in society through affecting those who watch them.
As my mom always tells me and as Ghandi once said, we must surround ourselves with those who will lift us higher. Why would we want to listen to someone who chooses not to read any books in a time where literacy is not accessible to all? Better yet, why would we surround our feed with someone who enables it for others? If you are reading this today, I encourage you to reevaluate your following to see what they truly stand for because who we support and give a platform to matters so much.