If you’re remotely tuned into the online world in any way, you may have heard the following terms: “Booktok”, “disgustingly educated” or “thought daughter.”

All of these words have been circulating on digital platforms to demonstrate a revolution against illiteracy, on the very platforms these terms are so against.

Recently, though, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Gen-Z, because, as we do with everything, we have made reading a trend.

With new movies this last year bringing back classics like “Wuthering Heights” and “Frankenstein”, which have boosted their book sales, it seems we are all yearning for something that fights the brainrot that emerged during the pandemic.

But is reading (or, at least, the way it’s portrayed currently) really an up-and-coming trend? And if it is, will it eventually die out and fade into the backlogs of Instagram and TikTok as so many other trends have? 

With many things, maybe the real question it should come down to is: Is it really a new trend? My answer: nothing is. 

Take the beloved polka-dot: many brands like Target have already spotted and capitalized on what we have been calling a microtrend. Some think it’s chic. Some influencers think it’s already dead. But Tiktok aside, polka dots have been around since the 1790s, and they’re likely not going anywhere. 

So how is reading any different?

Pop culture has a long history of gatekeeping what “real” reading looks like – mocking genres like romance, young adult dystopia, or comics just because they appeal more heavily to women or young people. 

Books are educational, yes, but they’re also a mirror of the human condition, and that is also emotions, relationships, and many other themes that we’ve been talking about for centuries. If a work of fiction supposedly ‘makes you smarter’ but doesn’t have an emotional effect, then did it really perform its function?

The truth is, de-trendifying reading might be the only way to make it stick around in our heads for the long term. For reading to be a common habit for everyone, we need to stop tailoring its aesthetic to suit the stereotype: reading isn’t just “artsy” or “nerdy”, it’s a fundamental skill.

Think back to when you were a kid, reading superhero comic books, or getting lost in series we now call cringey like “Warrior Cats” and “Percy Jackson.” If you were like me, you went to your local library and picked out books you found interesting, and then you got lost in that world and enjoyed it. 

If we’re pushing the mantra that you’re a fraud if you don’t read books like “The Bell Jar” and “Just Kids” (and there’s nothing wrong if you like those books), then many people will see a video on book recommendations on TikTok and just keep scrolling. 

Learning what you actually like to read can radicalize it. If you’re drawn to true crime podcasts but only pick up romance books and then call them “boring,” it could be worth it to try a different genre, like mystery.

Let’s stop looking at reading as a trend and let’s make it a lifelong habit instead. Sure, posing with a book as a fashion accessory is sexy, but what happens when the ring light is off and you haven’t hit the record button? 

Despite all the paid promotions and Pinterest posts, you don’t actually need ballet flats, a cigarette in hand, and mysterious sunglasses on your face to look like an acceptable reader. And reading in public isn’t really that performative unless you think it is. 

Schools began teaching literacy because many important figures, like Frederick Douglass and John Dewey believed that education should be for everyone and that literacy was the key to a democratic society. So, why are we artificially limiting the population that “should” read?

When we think about literacy we usually think about serious academics with their noses stuck in books, or maybe our high school English class where the teacher talked about the importance of correct punctuation. But what does literacy actually mean?

As of 2024, 21% of adults in the U.S. are functionally illiterate. No, illiterate does not only mean you cannot read. Literacy means you can not only read a text, but comprehend it, analyze it and recall it. 

The literacy crisis is happening for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the biggest factor it comes down to is that we cannot think critically about what we are reading. We cannot pay attention to deeper pieces of work because of our modern world that is geared to fast, short-form content.

It’s not our fault that the algorithm capitalizes on what’s most attention-grabbing and not what’s most intelligent, credible, or true but if we want to start working on understanding the things we read, it must start with changing the media you consume.

The truth is that, like polka dots, reading isn’t something that’s going to die out anytime soon. Yes, modern people read less. But if you want to start, it can be as easy as putting down the phone for a little while and instead, flipping to the first page.