BookTok 101: TikTok, Digital Literacies, and Out‐of‐School Reading Practices

Abstract There has been a noticeable shift in how young readers approach reading where digital literacy communities serve as much purpose as traditional literacy communities like an ELA classroom. This article offers an introduction to TikTok and BookTok as well as several methods of integrating TikTok into classrooms. As the sub‐community for book lovers and readers, BookTok is connected to a lineage of literacy practices. Despite the newness of TikTok, these democratized spaces provide teen readers with agency, community, and digital literacies for their voices, ideas, and creativity to take shape. By including or acknowledging BookTok literacy practices in ELA classrooms, teachers have the potential to hinge on digital literacies that are ultimately shaping students and their cultural understandings.