Image credit: backstage
Digital platforms have become a great mode for people to discover new books. While TikTok has definitely been a useful space for the same, it seems like YouTube has surpassed TikTok to become the most popular online platform for youngsters to find out new books to read, according to a Nielsen BookData report.
In the 2022 survey, Nielsen found out that about 34% of people (between the 14 to 25 age group) find books/new reads from YouTube. Besides that, popular platforms like TikTok were used by 32% of the survey participants for the same.
Instagram, on the other hand, was used by 27% of the participants, and the official website of the book retailer was only visited by only 33% of people.
As for the offline mode of discovering books, about 41% said that they discovered books through a friend’s reference. Also, 36% of the participants discovered their new reads from conventional bookstores.
The report also indicated that an estimated 61 million books (at £496m cost) were bought by the youngster population (14-25 age group) in 2022. This represented about 18% of the books market.
Moreover, 45% of the young respondents indulged in a book for fun on a weekly basis, and 17 read books for leisure. As for other daily activities, social media topped the list, with about 70% of participants using it for fun regularly.
Coming to the genres that were popular in the age group, 36% were involved in fantasy action/adventure stories, making it the chart leader. Some other popular categories include crime/thriller, funny stories, and science fiction/fantasy. Only 11% of respondents were interested in books about geography, the world, and related domains, while 12% agreed to like books about current and social issues.
When participants were asked about the factors that can stimulate more reading, 34% mentioned interesting books and 30% about reading routines. Also, 26% of people considered restricting time on social media as a useful factor to encourage reading.
Coming to the main factor that encouraged book purchase in these youngsters, for 46% of the participants, it was book description. While about 35% said it was the author/series that they liked earlier that made them purchase a book, 31% considered the cover design as the main driving factor.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.