For years we have been told that young people were not interested in books. However, data from the 2025 barometer of reading habits and book purchases in Spain indicate that almost 8 out of 10 young people in Spain read in their free time, above other age groups. A change that coincides with an obvious phenomenon: never before have books had such a presence on social media.
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TikTok, Instagram, or platforms like Goodreads have become showcases where reading is shared, recommended, and, in many cases, goes viral. Under hashtags like #BookTok or #Bookstagram, millions of users talk about books, generate trends, and turn titles into bestsellers.
Books have ceased to be just an individual experience to become something shared
This new ecosystem has transformed the way books are discovered. “There are books that suddenly resurface because they have gone viral on social media,” says Gemma Vilaginés, literary director of Montena. “Authors with very large communities know how to address their readers, and that makes their books sell more.”
The publishing industry is not oblivious to this phenomenon. Campaigns with content creators or sending copies to booktokers are already part of the usual strategy.
Beyond the data, a fundamental question emerges: What does reading mean for young people? According to Alba Colombo, sociologist and professor of Arts and Humanities Studies at the UOC, the key lies in the changing relationship with culture. “There is an extreme need to share, not so much to enjoy collectively, but to define oneself individually,” she explains.
We consume culture to define who we are and show it to others”
Alba Colombo
Professor of Arts and Humanities Studies at the UOC
In this context, reading has ceased to be merely a habit to also become a symbol. Carefully arranged bookshelves, special editions, or photographs in cafes with a book are now part of a recognizable aesthetic. The book is consolidated as a cultural object, but also as an object of consumption and image.
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That is why fashion brands have already detected the trend and joined it. For example, the luxury brand Dior has launched book-inspired bags, Miu Miu has promoted ephemeral kiosks, and Zara marketed t-shirts with the slogan “reading is sexy” (“leer es sexy”, in Spanish).
This style phenomenon has moved into the physical space, from increasingly common reading parties (fiestas de lectura) to retreats or literary dates, also known as book dating. These new ways of reading have left behind reading associated with intimacy to transform it into something made for sharing.
At the same time, social media dynamics emerge around reading: challenges, rankings, or videos in which the books read each month are quantified. “Quantity does not always imply quality,” warns Colombo. “The desire to read more and more can go against a more reflective and transformative reading.”
Reading moves between personal experience and the need to expose it
In this context, reading has become a way to project an image: more cultured, more interesting, more adult. Even in public spaces, reading becomes a visible, shared, and, at times, even performative act.
Beyond the figures, the change is not only in how much is read, but in the place reading occupies. It has gone from being a private habit to becoming part of a shared culture, where reading also implies building community, recommending, and, in a way, defining oneself to others.
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