Is BookTok only for young people?

a selection of books on a desk with text overlaid

‘I thought BookTok is only for young people? I assumed it was only young adult and fantasy books’, a client said to me the other day. She was under the impression that it made no sense to promote her literary fiction novel on TikTok. She figured that the creators that would promote her book were too young to have a genuine interest and that their followers would not have the right demographics either.

Do Younger Readers only read books written for their age?

I am inclined to say that we tend to underestimate the average booktoker. A while ago we hosted an event for classic books that were going to be republished with beautiful new covers. We invited a group of booktokers to attend the event. The host had organized a workshop in which the booktokers were invited to create a new book cover for their favorite book. This could be any book, not just a classic. We submitted the list to the host which consisted of 9 classics and 1 contemporary book. The host then came back to us saying that the booktokers really didn’t need to be so polite and should have just picked their real favorite book. We had to explain to her that these really were their favorite books and they simply loved Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.

People that assume that BookTok is only about fantasy and romance books are wrong. Sure, a lot of videos by creators in their twenties discuss these genres, but there’s more if you know where to look. Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (1992) was a huge BookTok-hit because of its dark academia vibes, classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was rediscovered by a new audience and the hashtag #horrortok has close to 2 million posts. It’s fair to say there’s available BookTok content for everyone, no matter your age and your taste in books. Check out our blogs on Lit- Fic and Horror here!

Are older people on TikTok at all?

Research shows that the majority of TikTok’s users fall in the age group 18 to 34 years old (70.1% of all its users). Of course, these numbers clearly show that if young adults are your target audience, you have found a great channel to reach them. But what about older users? Aren’t they active at all on TikTok? They certainly are; 29.1% of TikTok’s users are over 35 years old. Knowing that TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users, it means that 291 million users belong to the older demographics.

But let’s zoom into the BookTok community on TikTok now. Does this subcommunity show the same numbers as TikTok in general? The answer is partially yes. The vast majority of people active on BookTok are under 35 years old with a clear overrepresentation of females. Kim Townend, a social media strategist, wrote a blog at Youscan.io that explains how the US booktok audience mainly consists of young millennial moms, where the UK booktok audience is predominantly younger female millennials.

As the owner of a company that heavily depends on BookTok, I decided to start my own BookTok channel. Some time ago, I posted a video about ‘being old on BookTok’. It stated ‘Aren’t most booktok girlies like… IN THEIR 20s?!’ Unfortunately my sound was muted by TikTok. It was a snippet from ‘Yes, and?’ by Ariane Grande. The video accumulated 47.2K views, received 695 likes and 107 comments.

@antinavanderveen
I need more booktok oldies! #booktok #booktoknl #boektok #boektoknl #booktoker #booktokers #booktokcommunity #bookrecommendations #bookrecs #booktour
♬ yes and – chan

I was quite surprised that so many people identified with the video and expressed how they love BookTok despite not being part of the core audience.

“I’m about to be 50 and I love booktok”

“I am 40. Have read many amazing books because of booktok”

“I’m going to be 52 this year. The books I read keep my brain young. Constantly learning new things too”

“39 here. Thanks to booktok my TBR is never ending”

“52, I was probably having a nap when you made this”

Older BookTokers

Although I love watching BookTok videos made by my team members, and I follow a good bunch of mainly Dutch booktokers, I appreciate it a lot when I see a slightly older creator giving BookTok a go. So, let’s look at some of the 35 yo+ creators on BookTok that have large audiences.

There’s Jaysen from the US with 740K+ followers, who has a huge love for science fiction, fantasy and anime and just doesn’t know how to deal with his mountain of books any longer.

@ezeekat
Reorganizing my books has gone a little off the rails 😅 #booktok #books #bookshelforganization #bookhoarder #bookshelf
♬ original sound – Jaysen

Then there are Ashley and Emily from the US who run The Creepy Book Club. Obviously they are totally into psychological thrillers. Their 230K+ followers are on the look out for their latest thriller recommendations.

@thecreepybookclub
Comment with a book you wish you could read again for the first time
♬ original sound – TheCreepyBookClub

Are you following Lauren from the UK? Her 259K+ followers regularly receive recommendations about the latest fantasy, romance, lit-fic and dark academy releases. Check out this video where she explains how reading fiction should not be seen as less educational than reading non-fiction.

@laurens.little.library
#bibliophile #booktok #fiction #booklovers #storytime
♬ original sound – Lauren’s Little Library

Speaking of non-fiction books, if you’re interested in learning more about personal development and growth, you may want to follow Nick from the US (258K+ followers). His bio says ‘sharing the wisdom I find’. He does so by reading quotes from books to his followers.

@nickluebke
Empathy is powerful. Showing people they arent alone is some of the most important work we can do #mentalhealth #growth #mindset @Erwin Raphael McManus
♬ original sound – Nick Luebke

Let’s not forget about Angie from the US who inspires 123K followers to pick up the latest manga releases. One of her best performing videos is about how she remembers what she was like as a teen.

@hai_hoku
🤣🤣🤣 #sailormoon #animefyp #otaku #oldtaku #sailormoonfans
♬ Now and Then – ✨Angie✨

BookTok is a place for everyone, no matter your age. Sure, the majority of creators are under 35. However, older creators have earned their space in the community too and it would be wonderful if more creators followed their lead. It’s just a matter of time. However, I think the most important conclusion is that there’s a space on BookTok for any type of book, no matter the age of the content creator.