As with social media and the internet in general, there are pros and cons to the bookish community that occupies its own special corner on social media and the internet.
Today, I'm going to talk about 5 pros and 5 cons of the bookish community on
Instagram - aka Bookstagram (10 points in total). I tried to keep the pros and cons balanced with each other. Each point I bring up as a pro connects with a point I bring up as a con.
Pro 1: You can connect with other book lovers.
As with any part of the bookish community, you can connect with other book lovers on Bookstagram. It's a lot more convenient in the sense that you can have quick conversation on a post or over DMs, and you can see in a single, quick post what others have read, are reading, and want to read.
Pro 2: You can connect with book lovers across the world.
Adding onto Pro 1, not only are you connected with fellow book lovers, you can be anywhere in the world and still connect with them. And you get a variety of book recommendations other than the ones that are popular in your own country/area.
Pro 3: You can follow authors if they have an IG account.
Many authors use social media to promote their work, and quite a few use Instagram. Many authors also post vague photos of upcoming work, that also helps you look forward to and stay tuned for any new books they're releasing!
Pro 4: You get to see really pretty bookish posts.
Aesthetics is everything on Bookstagram. As a result, you can see some aesthetically pleasing bookish posts on Bookstagram from the more experienced book bloggers of IG. And you may even learn a few tips and tricks to make your posts more aesthetic.
Pro 5: You get an idea of how others liked or didn't like books.
If you see a good book review for a book in your favorite genre, you know there's a high likelihood that you'll like it. If it's a neutral or bad review, then you may get an idea that you might not like it.And if it's a book that's not in your favorite or usual genres, you can still get a pretty good idea about whether or not you'll like it.
Con 1: You lose a lot of communication over Bookstagram.
Even though it is a niche corner of Instagram, Bookstagram is still Instagram. And even though there are photos to emphasize the meaning of the text, you still lose a lot of the meaning behind the words. Even with 1 minute or less videos, there's not a lot you can say in 60 seconds.
Con 2: Language can be a bit of a barrier, especially when it's a computer doing the translating.
"Read." How did you say that in your head? Did you say it in its present tense in a sentence like "I read"? Or did you say it in its past tense, in a sentence like "I read that"? Different pronunciations, intonations, and sentences all allude to different meanings. And those meanings aren't always conveyed in the written text or in translation from one language to another. And not just with the word "read," but with the two sentences I provided - the present versus past tense of the verb "read."
Con 3: Despite that many authors use IG, they may not understand what you're communicating.
I don't need to reiterate what I wrote under Con 1 and Con 2. As a result, try to understand that while your constant sharing of their books and tagging them in posts/stories may come from a place of admiration, it may not come off that way on the author's end.
Con 4: Contrary to Pro 4, there is a lot of emphasis on "aesthetically pleasing" bookish posts.
There is a reason why aesthetics are popular. But with the bookish community on Instagram, 75-90% of the focus is on how "aesthetically pleasing" a post is and not necessarily the book itself. (I put that percentage in a range because it varies from post to post, and from account to account.) This strong emphasis on "aesthetically pleasing" posts can put a lot of pressure on newbies to the Bookstagram community.
Con 5: Book reviews are biased.
No matter where the review is, book reviews are biased. And Bookstagram doesn't really allow for much elaboration in the caption, so you may not get a person's full opinion on a book simply from an IG post. Additionally, if it's a negative review, the review generally focuses on what the person didn't like, and it doesn't acknowledge that other people may like the book.