The Influence of Social Media on the Reading Comminity & Writing Industry- WAM mini cast assignment

Discussion platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and Goodreads have both beneficial and detrimental effects on the reading community. They can provide recommendations and interesting perspectives, but they can also discourage people from reading based on negative reviews. Constructive criticism is important, but the line between that and inhibiting creativity can be blurred. Authors could benefit from having a team review these platforms for general consensus and main points, rather than accessing them personally. It's important to navigate these platforms with caution to not let negative reviews deter us from enjoying books. Okay. Introduce yourself. Hi, my name is Lindsay. Did I say my last name? Sure. Okay. My name is Lindsay Hollerin. I am 30 years old, and I'm from Pennsylvania. Hello, my name is Elodie Montaigne. Hi, my name is Ryan O'Donnell, and I'm 20 years old. And I'm Madison Roth. Today, I will be exploring the beneficial and detrimental effects of discussion platforms on both the writing industry and reading community. With the recent rise of reading and popularity, it is imperative to examine the influence of discussion platforms such as Reddit, TikTok, and Goodreads on the reading community. Have these platforms enhanced the reading experience of individuals? I think it's good to be able to get recommendations from them, and I think it's good in like if you want like opinions or books on like interesting topics or like that you may not think of, I think if you seek, you can seek it out and kind of get an idea of what you're looking for. But I also think that it can go the opposite way, and like TikTok specifically I think has given like, I don't know, BookTok is crazy, you know what I mean? Conversely, it can inhibit a person's willingness to read a book they may enjoy due to the reviews left on these platforms. If it's bashed in the comments or something like that, I won't probably look at it, but if it's wildly praised, I'll usually check it out. Yet, where is the line drawn between constructive criticism toward the authors and inhibition of creativity? This was evident in my conversation with Lindsay. Fan fiction and people being disappointed by endings has always been a thing, but I think that when it's readily at your fingertips and there's like keyboard warriors and like trolls, I think that the opinions can get carried away, and it can be kind of overpowering. And so if you like really, if I was an author and I released a book and it got tore to shreds, like yes, maybe some of that is helpful to take in. Like, oh, I don't like how she switched point of views too many times. Like, little things like that can be good for an author to take into consideration. But overall, if they're just like tearing you apart, I think that it would absolutely hinder like their creative flow and make them more self-conscious to not take every single thing into consideration. Like, I don't know, if I was an author, I don't know if I would be on Goodreads. So how do we remedy the effects of not so constructive criticism while still allowing authors to utilize these reviews to their benefit? Lindsay proposed this plausible solution. I think that authors would benefit from having a team of people who are reviewing these platforms to see what the general consensus is and like the main points. But I don't think the person who is actually creating the art should be the one accessing those because again, it leads to, you know, maybe their confidence dwindling. But I do think that, you know, if enough people are saying, oh, she should have done this or he should have done that, that there should be a team of people reviewing that so that it can be taken into consideration. As you can see, the increased use of Reddit, TikTok, and Goodreads has both positive and negative effects on the overall joy and success of writing. As one immerses themselves into the reading universe, it is important to navigate these platforms with caution as to not deter oneself from reading a book they may enjoy.