When was the last time you saw children reading “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”? When I walk into bookstores and browse online websites, the books featured for children who are barely out of elementary school are often intense young adult romances and mysteries.
So what happened to the books that are actually for children? The ones we grew up reading?
More and more young children are skipping age-appropriate stories meant for them entirely. Parents and guardians often don’t notice because the pastel-covered books look harmless, and any kind of reading feels like a win.
Instead of reading books about adventures and friendship dilemmas, children are reading books about violence, toxic relationships, and addiction, topics meant for ages 16-18 and up.
One major reason for this silent shift is social media, especially BookTok.
This online TikTok subcommunity often features only popular young adult books, with trendy covers and addictive plots that make children feel older just by holding them. However, many of these books aren’t meant for their young minds to process the complex and inappropriate content that the books offer.
Many people will argue that it is a safe community for book-lovers to come together and share reviews and recommendations, but the major BookTok function is publishing content that goes viral by posting attractive book memes and spicy book blurbs.
When young eyes get exposed to these, they immediately want in because of the feeling of maturity they gain. In fact, it feels “uncool” to be holding titles like “Percy Jackson” or the “Warriors” series.
As social beings, humans are highly influenced by their environment, including the media they consume. According to a Psychology Today article, reveals that our thoughts and behaviors are often shaped by external factors, and reading age-inappropriate content can have lasting effects on children’s development.
By skipping over middle-grade books, children are missing out on stories that reflect their actual stage of life. These books are designed for children to build their skills and navigate through their actual age problems, like friendships and self-identity.
Reading mature content gives children exposure to topics that are meant for teenagers or adults who have already experienced more of the world and can handle these topics.
So, what is wrong with children reading these topics at an early age if they’ll be exposed to difficult areas later in life?
Intense young adult books can distort a child’s understanding of relationships, adulthood, and human behaviors. New adult fiction novels, especially ones by Colleen Hoover, often portray themes such as domestic or sexual violence through romantic lenses. On TikTok and Instagram, books nowadays aren’t even rated based on how good they are, but rather on “spice levels” using chili emojis.
Now, authors feel pressured to write books that get viral online for their books to actually sell. Since young adult books are gradually increasing in popularity, authors are shifting their focus to bringing YA books to their audience in order to sustain in the field. Now, the elementary level book sections feature BookTok’s famous books that went viral online.
None of this means that young adult books are bad or that kids should be shielded from every difficult topic but development matters. There’s no rush to grow up and the books they read shouldn’t push them to.
