“OM DU VILL UPPLEVA ÄKTA KÄRLEK & FÅ DITT HJÄRTA KROSSAT” - En tematisk innehållsanalys av den svenska BookTok-gemenskapen på det sociala mediet TikTok
Abstract
Executive summary
Today Swedish youth are increasingly spending more time on social media meanwhile the
degree of book reading is decreasing. This development has led to negative consequences like
inferior performance amongst Swedish students. Campaigns to promote reading have been put
to action by educational institutions and other authorities without much success. Youth seem
to connote book reading with schoolwork and it is seen as an activity rewarded by adults. It is
therefore possible that campaigns created by youth themselves might be more effective, and a
phenomenon that can be seen as such a campaign is BookTok.
BookTok is a digital community centered around books and book reading that sprung to life
on the social media TikTok in the year of 2020. TikTok has grown continuously since its
launch in 2018 and it can for sure be said to play an important role in today's media
landscape. The platform provides users with the opportunity to record, edit, share and
consume short videos, and the content that reaches the user is heavily ruled by algorithms.
The content mainly reaches the user through the platforms For You Page (FYP) which
consists of an endless flow of personalized videos. When it comes to Swedish TikTok users
the main group are adolescents and young adults born in the decade of 2000.
Reading is of great importance for adolescents' cognitive developments and it can also be seen
as enriching through a cultural perspective. We therefore believe that it is of importance to
research new ways through which book reading can be promoted amongst adolescents.
Further, it is of high relevance for media- and communication studies to research new media
technology and its effects on users' consumption and habits, as well as how new media can
replace others.
Earlier research about BookTok and digital book-communities in general state that an
important aspect of the phenomenon is its social functions, and BookTok can be seen as a
social venue where individuals interact through a shared interest. Earlier research also
emphasized that individuals, through participation in the BookTok-community, can create
their own BookTok-identities. We feel that the existing research lacks a deeper analysis of
how BookTok functions as a breeding ground for a sense of community and creation of the
identity amongst adolescents. Furthermore, none of the studies were performed in a Swedish
or even European context. The aim of this study is therefore to research BookTok through a
Swedish context in order to understand how it, as a community, contributes to promote and
portray book reading as attractive among Swedish youth. Our hope is that the study will help
broaden the knowledge about digital communities mediated through social media, and the
following research questions were created based on the purpose of the study: (1) Which type
of content do Swedish BookTokers post?, (2) How does content posted by Swedish BookTokers
portray book reading as attractive?, (3) How do the participants present themselves as
BookTokers?, (4) How is the BookTok-community constructed and maintained?
Two theories were applied in order to answer the third and fourth research question:
Performativity Theory and Social Worlds. The use of performativity theory was inspired by
Dezuanni et al. (2021) who applies its framework in their research of digital
book-communities. Dezuanni et al. (2021) suggests that performative actions constitute reader
identities and that individuals can position themselves through participation and sharing of
content. Accordingly, Performativity Theory is applied in order to help us answer how users
portray themselves as BookTokers. Social Worlds, on the other hand, is instead applied in
order to help us identify the actions that construct and maintain the community. The theory
origins from Shibutani (1986) who describes that communities in modern society stem from
shared interests rather than a shared geographic location, and these social worlds are
constituted by human relations and communicative actions.
Through the approach of a qualitative content analysis we are able to research and understand
the content of a media text. We therefore chose to apply the method of thematic analysis, a
flexible and adaptable qualitative method that is neither attached to a specific design nor
theory, and that can contribute with detailed and rich descriptions through identification and
analysis of patterns and themes. The study was divided into two parts, a general thematization
and an in-depth analysis of chosen aspects. A guide for the study's research process and a
schedule for analysis was created in order to ensure that all writers based their interpretations
on the same conditions. The general thematization was performed through an analysis of 120
videos collected from TikTok under the hashtag #swedishbooktok. After defining common
themes in the content produced by Swedish BookTokers a closer analysis of how the content
under each theme portrays book reading as attractive was performed. Lastly, the in-depth
analysis of two chosen themes was performed with the help of the theoretical framework and
the schedule for analysis.
Five common and recurrent themes were found through the general thematization:
recommendations, reading experiences, inviting content, textual content and dramatized
content. The two most common themes were found to be recommendations and reading
experiences. Content categorized as recommendations is made up of book recommendations
mediated through different formats like reviews and hauls. Content categorized as reading
experiences is made up of portrayals of experiences related to books and reading, often
communicated with a comical touch. Through analyzing how the content under each theme
contributes to portray book reading as attractive it became clear that a majority of the creators
put in a lot of work when it comes to the aesthetic design of the content. The videos are
consequently produced, often follow a distinct structure and the implementation of visual
elements like text, digital stickers and props create an aesthetically satisfying expression.
Recommendations and reading experiences were chosen to be researched further in the
second part of the study, the in-depth analysis. The results of this analysis show a number of
shared performative actions through which Swedish users present themselves as BookTokers.
Physical books are shown, hashtags that include the word BookTok are used and a love for
reading is expressed. Hashtags were also shown to play an important role for the community’s
existence, since it is through them that participants are able to find each other. We also found
a number of factors that construct and maintain the BookTok-community, for example content
created by youth, appreciation of young adult literature, relatable content and appreciation of
books' physical form.
The in-depth analysis allowed us to identify different BookTok identities, amongst them the
feminine BookToker who positions themselves as feminine through including typically
feminine features in their content. We also observed a strong majority of female participation,
which might stem from the fact that Swedish girls read more than boys in general. We also
found that the feminine BookToker often discusses feelings a specific book might produce
and how books have made an impact on their emotional life, which goes in line with earlier
research that indicates that many adolescents mainly connect with books through emotional
response. Further we believe that BookTok promotes book reading as attractive in a more
effective way than campaigns created by adults and institutions since it is created by youth
themselves and mediated in ways familiar to individuals that have grown up with social
media. The community also works as a social venue where book reading is applied in a larger
context. In line with earlier research we found that BookTok provide youth the opportunity to
engage in book reading in ways that both include development of the identity and social
interaction.
BookTok and digital book-communities in general are still relatively unexplored in the
European context, which means that further research is required in order to make more
general statements. To increase the understanding of adolescents' motives for participation in
digital book-communities and book reading in general further research should focus on
participants' and recipients' own experiences and perceptions of the BookTok-community.
Another aspect we consider to be of interest to investigate further is that a strong majority of
the community´s participants are women, this in order to gain more knowledge about how to
increase the rate of book reading amongst young men. But also to research further how the
community might work as a safe space for young women.
Degree
Student essay
Collections
View/ Open
Date
2023-03-10Author
Lindquist, Louise
Lundmark, Alva
Rosén, Tuva
Keywords
Sociala medier, TikTok, BookTok, Bokgemenskap, Läsaridentitet, Bokläsning, Performativity Theory, Social Worlds
Series/Report no.
1216
Language
swe