Ella Power looks at the impact of social media platforms on literature.
The rise of the fast fashion industry has been subject to criticism for years through its environmentally detrimental business model and the cheap consumerism it promotes.
While in recent years public awareness has grown regarding the morality and ethics within fashion, perhaps another global giant has escaped similar scrutiny, literally hiding between the covers: the publishing industry.
We are publishing more books than ever before, yet meaningful engagement with literature appears to be shrinking. The number of new titles published in the United States increased by more than tenfold between the years 2005 and 2021, whilst the average reading scores during this period seen on the National Report Card did not reflect any similar growth. Although one country’s statistics cannot account for the global scale of the industry, this surge illustrates that another factor is at play: the mass production of disposable content.
The growing reliance on artificial intelligence driven algorithms within the publishing industry has amplified this shift toward accelerated production. Major publishers such as Penguin Random House are increasingly using AI to inform their decisions regarding pricing and print runs, forcing literature to be moulded less by artistic intention and more by how viable it is for public consumption. This reality echoes George Orwell’s 1984, where he outlines that “novel writing machines” could mass-produce literature in his imagined future society, using machine made “kaleidoscopes” to stand in for the human creative process. This reality is not only concerning for those hoping to work in the creative sphere, but also for society. Writing and publishing, which allows for genuine artistic expression, influences culture and dictates the information we receive, is progressively becoming more automated and stripped of the real human perspective.
Writing and publishing, which allows for genuine artistic expression, influences culture and dictates the information we receive, is progressively becoming more automated and stripped of the real human perspective.
Within contemporary reading culture, fast fashion-esque consumerism has taken hold. The viral online space ‘booktok’ within the social media platform TikTok houses creators dedicated to reviewing and recommending books. A common thread amongst these influencers is showcasing never ending “to be read” lists, in which novels are continuously purchased, displayed, read superficially or simply bought to be used as ‘coffee table books’ for decoration. In this digital landscape, books function less as objects to meaningfully engage with, and instead as signifiers of participation within current social trends. Many of these creators centre their recommendations around formulaic tropes and widely marketable genres, perpetuating the algorithmic publishing machine. As both writer and reader succumb to current market appetites, real literature is lost in the tide of pulp literature. While original, ethical clothing brands lose out to mass production and exploitative labour, the fast fashion/publishing industry parallel is undeniable.
While original, ethical clothing brands lose out to mass production and exploitative labour, the fast fashion/publishing industry parallel is undeniable.
Nevertheless, it would be misleading to suggest that contemporary literature has become entirely disposable. Many writers continue to produce complex and enduring work that resists the pressures of algorithm-driven publishing cycles. Independent presses, experimental authors, and slower forms of literary production demonstrate that depth remains possible even within an accelerated cultural environment. The issue, therefore, is not the disappearance of meaningful literature, but the conditions under which it must now compete for attention.