Since when did reading become something we perform rather than something we enjoy?

Spend five minutes on TikTok and you'll encounter BookTok, the platform's vast community of readers who recommend, review and discuss literature with millions of followers. On the surface, this seems like a great development.

Young people are reading , buying more books and engaging with literature online. What's not to like?

Quite a lot, actually.

Reading has become more of a personality trait than a genuine passion, particularly since the pandemic.

I'm 22, and I have seen this shift happen in my generation. I know social media is a direct cause. The BookTok displays in Waterstones encapsulate how platforms like TikTok have reshaped reading.

The titles dominating these tables, usually hyper-marketed romances, fantasy novels and self-help books, are valued less for their literary merit than for their ability to signal belonging or taste to an online audience.

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I don't mean to be a snob. I'm genuinely delighted that TikTok has encouraged younger people to pick up books. Anything that gets people reading is, on some level, a positive thing. But it is also symptomatic of the intensely digital, chronically online, brain-rot-riddled culture we now inhabit.

Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, heavily market certain books and push them to audiences through algorithms. Users........

© Herald Scotland