My thoughts on one of the most popular sides of a popular app: TikTok
TikTok has become one of, if not the most, famous forms of social media. With that, people have started using it for different things. That was a very poor explanation but that is essentially what the different “sides” are. The side I will be discussing, and that I am most familiar with, is known as Booktok.
Booktok is exactly what it sounds like. A side of TikTok completely focused on books and things that apply to readers. The popularity of Booktok has caused more people to become readers. People who never would have even considered touching a book are now reading more than ever. Booktok has introduced them to books, series and authors that they would never would have had they not seen it online.
This, of course, did not come without some negative side effects. Spend about five minutes scrolling and you quickly find the bad parts.
For starters, it is extremely competitive. You are most likely wondering how it is competitive. Well this is more so noticeable at the end of each month or year. When people post how many books and how many pages they read for that amount of time. People see this and, somewhat naturally, compare their own reading habits. I can attest to this as I am one of the people who has felt this inferiority. Even if not fully comparing it to them, people will make reading goals based on that and be disappointed if they do not reach it. It should be noted that when people make those posts, they leave a lot out. The size of the words, the amount of time they had, if they had outside things effecting them and their ability and so many more details. With these being left out, more people compare themselves and do not even think about those factors.
Booktok is also heavily affected by cancel culture. Cancel culture is the concept of how people are so easily “canceled” where they lose popularity and are hated on/boycotted for different things. This is toxic because it does not let people learn from mistakes, as well as the fact that all things are treated as equal issues even when some are completely worse then others. Booktok, while it might seem like a nice and inclusive space, is not free of cancel culture. It is not only impossible to see what authors aren’t canceled, it is also impossible to fully learn why and see it objectively. That is a huge issue with all of cancel culture and Booktok does not escape its harmful grasp.
Booktok can be a great thing for so many people. However, that does not excuse the bad aspects of it. Like with everything on the internet, and in life, people must be as careful as possible when looking into it. TikTok is not the only place that these issues appear. To my knowledge, they are on all social media forms. Remember to always be careful and think for yourself!
