Skip to Content

Social media changes reading

Nationwide decline attributed to the instant gratification from increasing internet use
Social media changes reading

Hundreds of students mingle in the library each day to study, sheltered from the cold or relaxed on the couches. However, despite this mass of potential readers in close proximity, the rows and rows of bookshelves remain unbrowsed. With the never-ending stream of coursework, tests and extracurriculars, many find it difficult to make space for leisure reading.

Talia Boneh, co-president of Paly Book Club, said the intimidating nature of reading can be a barrier for some students.

“Opening up a book, seeing all those words, getting through hundreds of pages can seem very difficult on your brain,” Boneh said.

The Book Club’s other co-president, Kensie Pao, said many students don’t see reading as a relaxing hobby because it is often associated with school-assigned books that can be long, boring or difficult.

“You’re not going to want to read Shakespeare on your free weekend,” Pao said. “But there are a lot of really good books out there … The goal with Book Club is to get people to realize that you can read books for relaxation.”

English teacher Hunter Reardon also said one crucial reason for the falloff in reading among young people is the ubiquity of social media, which has made reading seem less like a fun way to relax and more like a difficult chore.

The National Literacy Trust found that only 35% of eight to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their free time, an 8.8% drop from last year.

“The dopamine that we get from notifications, messages and videos on social media is just so constant that it’s hard for people to get the same joy out of reading books,” Reardon said.

Consequently, librarian Sima Thomas said the instant gratification of social media can take away from the available time for leisure reading.

“The scrolling leaves you with that empty (feeling) like you just ate a bunch of empty calories,” Thomas said. “You might spend an hour scrolling and not remember any of it, whereas, if you had spent that time reading, it’s calming, it brings down your anxiety levels. It’s good for your brain.”

But Thomas said social media has impacted youth reading culture in positive ways, too. She said, for instance, BookToks can encourage students to read more by popularizing books like those by Colleen Hoover, who is known for writing romance novels like “It Ends With Us”.

“All of a sudden, this one autumn, all of these students (asked), ‘Oh, do you have any Colleen Hoover books?’ I had to look into it,” Thomas said.

Thomas said social media can also increase the diversity of authors by allowing smaller authors to gain recognition easier.

“(Hoover) had a big article in the New York Times about having the first five best seller spots on the paperback Best Seller list,” Thomas said. “She goes from self published to an overnight millionaire.”

In addition to giving a platform to smaller authors, Pao said books can also gain readership through movie and TV adaptations like “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” and even “Percy Jackson.”

“Whatever is the most publicized in the media (is) the kind of book that I tend to gravitate towards,” Pao said.

Despite Boneh’s passion for books, she said she once found reading daunting.

Boneh said social media can help students like herself overcome the challenges of reading by exposing them to a variety of genres and topics.

“I got into reading because I was seeing so many books being advertised on my social media,” Boneh said. “In the summer before I entered high school, I had a breakthrough where I read one book, and then suddenly I was obsessed with reading.”

Thomas said ultimately, social media is just a modern evolution of a platform to spread bestsellers.

“I think there have always been big hit books, and the nice thing about those reading experiences (is that) you might come to it (because) everybody said to read this, but then you might be more open to reading another book afterwards,” Thomas said.

While excessive time spent on devices can have many negative social effects, Thomas said many books and authors like fantasy writer Holly Black have online communities where people can make content and interact directly with the author.

“It’s not just (the author’s) book, but their whole life is their brand,” Thomas said. “It’s an interesting interface that books now have with the readers. Not only are you reading this book, but now you’re in on all the jokes and all the memes.”

While digital technology and social media can bring new books to the table, they can also revitalize classic literature. Reardon said while modern books are more popular with his students, modernizing classics like Shakespeare via film adaptations improves accessibility and engagement.

“(Shakespeare is) almost like reading a book from a different culture,” Reardon said. “Reading parts of the play but also watching film versions allows better access and helps students to move past the difficulty of understanding the language and the norms of the time period.”

Aside from preserving classic literature, Reardon also said modern technology like audiobooks improve accessibility and convenience.

“The audiobook is likely to become more and more popular because it has the advantage of being able to be consumed while doing something else,” Reardon said.

As the digital world continues to develop, Thomas said she hopes to see reading continue and grow among youth, countering many of the negative effects that social media has on teens’ brains.

The Oxford Dictionary named brain rot as the word of 2024, and reading is really the antithesis of brain rot,” Thomas said. “That’s what I love about reading. You can read manga. You can read Russian 19th century novels. You can read anything in between from the very challenging to the very easy, and it’s all good for you.”

Donate to The Campanile
$300
$500
Contributed
Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of Palo Alto High School's newspaper

More to Discover
Donate to The Campanile
$300
$500
Contributed
Our Goal