Reading is a very beneficial habit, with benefits such as improving memory, concentration and language, and also allowing the development of skills such as comprehension. In Europe, today April 23, Book Day is celebrated in commemoration of the deaths of some of the most important authors in history, such as Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Garcilaso de la Vega.
According to data from the Reading Habits Barometer, young people between 14 and 24 years old are those who read the most in their free time, but There are also a significant number of people who generally do not read ever and which, according to last year’s data, represents 35.2% of the population.
Fortunately, there are specialized content creators, called booktubers, who talk about literary content and who seek and succeed in bringing this exciting world closer to all types of people. At EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we spoke with three of them: Josu Diamond, author and YouTuber for 14 years; Raquel Brune, author with a community of more than 600,000 people and Paola Boutillier, from the channel Bichendo Bookswith more than 200,000 followers, to find out the role that social networks, YouTube and content creators can play
YouTube, due to the type of platform it is, can be the best medium for reading, since it is possible to make long edited videos in which the audience is usually looking for long content. Social media also offers other benefits, but perhaps more in terms of broadcasting than talking in depth about a specific title.
Get closer to reading
Technology can be used to get closer to the world of literature. There are even tools capable of recommending books using artificial intelligence. Social networks, like mobile phones, are a medium that depends on the goal sought by the user. Each person buys a cell phone for a completely different purpose, and the same thing can happen with social media. These offer content that, in many cases, is intended for quick consumption and immediate return, but They can also be used in a positive way.
According to YouTube data, searches for “book” or “books” have increased by 35% over the past 8 years on the video platform, reflecting the growing interest of users in sharing their hobby with other people. According to Brune, “Most of us content creators started talking about books on social media because we didn’t have anyone to share our love of reading with, or because no one around us liked it. loved the same books as us.
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The communities of these booktubers are active, and this means having a space to share ideas or opinions, and this, for Paola Boutillier, is also one of the keys. “I think we play a very important role that, as a teenager, I didn’t have in my case, and that is to find people with your tastes. People who like to read and who you can sense understood. Talk about what you are passionate about, discuss it and debate it” says the author.
For Josu Diamond, booktubers play a fundamental role, because not only do they help others to read, but also so they can find a space to interact with, making reading an enjoyable activity with positive feedback. For Boutillier, “a reader looks for readings that may please him and which remunerate him for “the expenditure of his time”, and if the content interests him it is because what is also said about this book”.
The habit develops
The existence of these creators helps prolong reading, and there is plenty of content that allows people who are already interested to discover interesting titles. However, you can also helping those who aren’t too keen start getting interested“Through content on social media we are giving an extra push to encourage reading. Reading has always been something that has always been there, we are just giving it a little more light,” explains Josu Diamond.
Although it is difficult for a person who does not like to read to eventually do so, bringing the content of books to these people can be easier. Audiobooks can be a great medium for this. As Paola Boutillier comments, “this format is another very good way to enter the literary world. The important thing is to be close to the people on the other side. When you create content yourself, you know what you like to see and so why do you stay watching it?
Everyone shares the opinion that reading is an excellent method to relax and disconnect, although passion for this medium must emerge in everyone. For Diamond, reading is more than simply immersing oneself in the classics of compulsory reading at educational levels, “that whoever wants to read, because reading must be understood as an activity of pleasure and not as an obligation. We had It’s already enough at school to continue to have a fly in the back of our ear telling us that we are less cultured because we don’t read Orwell.
Raquel Brune says that, in her case, her love for reading survived despite these compulsory titles that she had to read in class, they were never books that she wanted to read, but rather books that adults understood that she had to read. For other people, this experience can give the impression that reading is a school obligation that must be gotten rid of as soon as possiblebut the truth is that it remains entertainment that can reach many people.
For Paola Boutillier, some required reading in high school aside from Carlos Ruiz Zafón helped her discover the author, as mystery was her favorite genre, but that didn’t happen with all the “desire doesn’t” readings. hasn’t gone away, but I understand why many boys and girls can be disappointed if they come across required reading that isn’t quite modern or that they can’t understand.
