Social’s direct impact on our entertainment habits

From what TV series to binge, to the movies we stream, the books we read, and the music we listen to, social media affects our thinking, behaviours, and decision-making. It also impacts how consumers share their opinions and how the entertainment industry responds to consumer feedback.

Content creators are at the forefront of curating our playlists for what shows, movies, books, and songs become popular. They create the trends around the latest and greatest pieces of entertainment, and consumers actively turn to them for their honest opinions, recommendations, and reviews.

Below, we’re breaking down how each entertainment category has been impacted by social media and influential content creators.

The television and movie industry

Studies have shown that social media has a direct impact on the popularity of films and television shows.

Platforms such as TikTok are especially powerful, as they hero trends and allow users to interact with their fave shows and movies in a completely unique way. For example, the Netflix show Bridgerton had widespread exposure on TikTok. This success was then followed up by TikTok creators producing ‘Bridgerton the Musical’, composing unique songs inspired by the hit show. This is an example that highlights how powerful social media is at influencing behaviours, while also demonstrating how users interact with entertainment they love.

And who could forget the virality of shows like Tiger King, Squid Game, and Euphoria? These shows were released on different streaming platforms and gained huge popularity thanks to the social trends that emerged shortly after. Take Euphoria’s, Cassie’s morning routine trend for example. Beauty creators were using this line out of the popular TV series to share their extensive morning routines.

During the pandemic when theatres were closed, streaming services had to premiere new films directly on their platform. For example, Disney funnelled movies such as Hamilton and Soul directly to its Disney+ platform. Because of this, streaming services now heavily rely on the hype social media users and creators produce around new shows and movies in order to drive up streams.

The publishing industry

Thanks to social media, “being a bookworm is officially back in style”. #BookTok is a popular trending hashtag on TikTok (51.6B views and counting) that has dictated which books people should consider reading at any given time.

Originally created by ‘bookfluencers’, BookTok has turned into a wider TikTok community where book lovers around the globe share their aesthetically pleasing bookshelves and must-read recommendations.

Bookstores have since realised the selling power of TikTok (look no further than the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt phenomenon) and many now create in-store ‘As seen on #BookTok’ displays or ‘BookTok’ collections on ecommerce sites.

The recent rise in book sales can also be attributed to the virality of BookTok. Madeline Miller’s, “The Song of Achilles” recently became a #1 New York Times Bestseller, a decade after it was first published in 2011, thanks to the hype it generated across TikTok. This shows just how influential social media and ‘bookfluencers’ can be.

The music industry

TikTok and Reels have a direct impact on global music charts and how streaming platforms serve listeners new songs and playlists. 

Trending TikTok and Reels songs, no matter their release date, are finding new fans.

Who could forget the legendary skateboarding, Ocean Spray chugging 420doggface208, who chose Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams as the soundtrack to his viral TikTok? The band was back in Billboard’s top 10 in weeks, with an album released decades before. 

Aspiring artists know that having a trending song on social media can be huge. As streaming services create playlists of trending songs, it has helped propel the careers of artists like Lil Nars X, Olivia Rodrigo, and Doja Cat. In May 2021 we even saw TikTok unexpectedly skyrocket a song from the Nickelodeon kid show, The Backyardigans to the top of a Spotify chart.

Studies also show that TikTok drives consumer action, making it a powerful platform for music streaming services. In fact, 67% of TikTokers are more likely to seek out songs on music-streaming services that they discovered on the short-form video platform.