Members of Generation Z, who have grown up and been socialized as digital natives, are developing into readers of printed products – to everyone's surprise. They enjoy the haptic advantages of books and newspapers, but still obtain information from social media.
Generation Z includes people who were born between 1997 and 2010; they are technophiles who grew up with smartphones and they are technophiles who use various social media channels intensively. Nevertheless, numerous studies and book sales figures have shown that Gen Zers are purchasing far more books than a few years ago and they prefer to have a printed book in their hands rather than an e-book. There are many reasons for this: The practicality of haptic media, eyestrain due to digital media, the smell of actual books, “digital detox,” and many more.
Book sales boosted
However, this development is also supported by trends that have been present on social media for a while already. Young people are posting clips with book recommendations on the video platform TikTok using the hashtag #BookTok. According to a 2022 study by “Measure Protocol”, Gen Z spends a lot more time on TikTok than on other social media apps. And the NZZ reported last year that the hashtag #Booktok has been viewed 130 billion times around the world already; this way, publishers make a lot of money with advertising that costs them almost nothing: “The publishers, the Association of German Booksellers, and the big book fairs are extremely pleased about a future with TikTok.”
A best-seller list introduced in April of last year in Germany shows that young people’s interest is especially strong in the new adult and romance sectors. Tanja Messerli, President of the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association SBVV, confirmed to the online platform 20min.ch that on the one hand, Booktok has had a clear effect on sales figures, and on the other hand, positive effects on the young people and young adults themselves: “Many of these romance books come from English-speaking countries and are only translated later, if at all, into German. The result is that many teenagers are reading books in English, which, of course has a positive effect on their multilingual abilities.”
Another current trend on TikTok is recommendations to use libraries more. Here too, the number of views is in the millions. However, Gen Z is not only given the choice of books as an argument here, but also the availability of DVDs, WiFi, and streaming services and the opportunity to attend cultural events that take place in libraries.
Mentally healthy
Finally, Generation Z has discovered newspapers for itself. “Gen Z is bringing print back” was the title of last September's report in the news magazine Profil; it depicted the case of the influencer Kelsey, who received a subscription to the American newspaper the “New York Times” as a birthday present. A day later, she explained in a video on Instagram that Generation Z must work to bring back the print newspaper. And that's why now she's making a video each day, explaining what she's learned by reading the New York Times. In one of her follow-up reports, Kelsey also emphasized that Gen Z should start consuming focused media again, for that did a lot for her mental health. She feels much better since she’s been starting each morning with her New York Times.
Apropos influencers. Most of them are found on the video platform YouTube, and this started a lasting trend that continues to provide the book market with new impulses. For many YouTubers, writing your own book is akin to being knighted in the media. The nice thing for publishers is that these authors bring potential buyers in the form of subscribers.
The singer Dua Lipa has proven that it's possible to recommend books to young people on the Internet without focusing on one's own profit. In 2022, she founded the editorial platform service95.com, which provides content with a global perspective: “There are brilliant articles from some of the world’s most compelling voices – on everything from style and arts to social justice and politics.” An essential part of the platform is the Service95 Book Club, which presents its members with a book of the month, complete with discussion questions, author questions and answers, and additional reading lists, “to bring readers closer to the authors, their inspirations and the worlds they create.”