The age of social reading

We're a few years on from when we first started seeing TikTok as a driving force for book discovery and discussion, and the video app alongside other social media has now become ingrained in the book consumer ecosystem. But if we pull back a bit, we can see this as part of a wider trend outside of the For You page: the increasing social side of book buying and reading. Through the results of our monthly Books & Consumers survey, we've seen an increase in discovery via video sharing and social media but also via reading groups and recommendations from friends & family - so signs of growing talk around books, whether in the structure of a book club or more casual conversations, in person or online, between friends or followers. Based on the rolling year to March 2025, all these discovery methods saw their highest share on record of books bought for oneself by consumers in the UK, with bestseller lists also at a high, contributing to the overall pattern of collective book decisions.

We see some variation in the leading genres for each discovery method, although the same four lead for each, just in a different order. Social media and video sharing sites see self-help and romance, respectively, go to the top of the list, replacing usual frontrunner crime & thriller, which drops all the way to fourth for books discovered via video apps in the latest 12 months, ahead of fantasy and YA fiction. Classic fiction benefits from reading groups, making it to sixth for books discovered this way. Looking more top-level, recommendations, reading groups and social/video sites have led to increased discovery across fiction, non-fiction and children's/YA in recent years, so the upward trend isn't restricted to one area.

The buyers discovering books in these ways skew younger, with the age breakdown shown below. Over the 12-month period to March, just over two in five books that consumers bought for themselves were purchased by 13-34s, and that rises to three-quarters of books discovered through video sharing sites and at least half for the remaining discovery options pictured. Consumers aged 35-44 also take a higher share than they do overall for all options bar video apps, although they don't jump up as much as the under 35s. If we compare to five years ago, the 25-34 group have increased their share of the books discovered through friends & family, video sites and reading groups, so they certainly seem to be embracing the social side of reading.

In the survey, we also ask about general participation in book-related activities, so focusing on those that can point back to our discovery methods above, the highest number of book buyers say they discuss books in person, led by those aged 55+ but with 25-34s also standing out compared to the age groups around them. Buyers aged 25-34 were the most likely to say they discuss books online and attend reading groups, while for 13-24s, watching book videos is more prominent than in-person discussion.

Of course, talking about and recommending books, and buying popular books, is nothing new, but the exact form that takes can evolve. Readers today have so many outlets for sharing their opinions or listening to others, whether they use TikTok, Instagram, online discussion forums, physical or virtual book clubs, numerous other apps or sites always at our fingertips - altogether, that truly makes for a golden age of book discussion and connection. But even as these options grow, the data suggests that's not taking away from personal recommendations from friends & family, because really, what's better than discussing a good book with a friend.

Data extracted from the NielsenIQ BookData Books & Consumers survey, to March 2025. For more about book discovery and consumer buying behaviours, contact us at [email protected].