Dr Lize Barclay is a senior lecturer in Futures Studies and Systems Thinking at Stellenbosch Business School
Dr Lize Barclay
Over the past couple of years, we have seen contradictory headlines blasting either “Reading is dying” or “Books are back”. In a world that loves absolutes, let’s consider some other, more nuanced positive trends that are driving reading, and in turn literacy, within a complex system towards a spectrum of enticing possibilities.
The digital driver of literacy.
Through social media, especially short-form, we saw book sales driven by BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram. It has sparked renewed interest in Russian Literature and spectacular growth in romantasy, science fiction, and LitRPGs (literary role-playing games). Authors, sales and the way the publishing industry is steered have become guided by these social media drivers. Reading apps have gamified reading and created tight-knit reading communities that support each other.
