Studies in Media and Communication Vol. 12, No. 2; June 2024 ISSN: 2325-8071 E-ISSN: 2325-808X Published by Redfame Publishing URL: http://smc.redfame.com 26 Reading Culture of Teenagers in Social Media: A Study of Reading Habits and Perception of Online Literary and Educational Content by Teenagers Oleksandra Kovalova 1 , Tetiana Shalman 2 1 Postgraduate Student, Department of Publishing and Еditing, Educational and Scientific Institute of Journalism, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2725-5356 2 Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Educational аnd Scientific Institute оf Journalism, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9854-1539 Correspondence: Oleksandra Kovalova, Department of Publishing and Еditing, Educational and Scientific Institute of Journalism, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine. Received: November 1, 2023 Accepted: January 17, 2024 Online Published: January 30, 2024 doi:10.11114/smc.v12i2.6720 URL: https://doi.org/10.11114/smc.v12i2.6720 Abstract The article is devoted to the study of teenagers' reading culture on social media. The study aims to explore the reading culture of adolescents on social media platforms and assess the educational potential that these platforms (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) offer for teenage reading and education. As part of an effective study of teenagers' reading habits, the authors surveyed respondents. The survey results revealed the adolescents' perception of literary and educational content online. The study outlines the main trends in the reading culture of teenagers. It defines the preferences of adolescents in the literary aspect and describes the main factors influencing the reading culture. The paper describes the specifics of social media's influence on adolescent reading culture. In particular, it describes the role of book bloggers and book communities in shaping teenagers' tastes in reading. This study aims to investigate the reading culture of teenagers on social media and to assess the educational potential of these media platforms (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube) for teenage reading and education. The object of the study is the reading culture of teenagers. The study applied such research methods as description, analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, modelling, and content analysis. The article examines the reading culture of adolescents on social networks. The authors describe the place of reading and social networks in teenagers' lives in the information society. The essence of blogging and digitalization in terms of book trends is described. The study of reading habits and perception of literary and educational content online by adolescents is analyzed. In addition, the authors summarize the main results of the study and assess the educational potential of social networks. The main age, gender, and social parameters of the respondents are determined. Keywords: reading, the culture of reading, reader culture, media consumption of teenagers, online reading, teenagers, teenage reading, juvenile literature, young adult fiction, teenagers' reading 1. Introduction Today, social media is an essential part of everyone's life. Through media platforms, anyone can find the necessary information and communicate, entertain themselves, and share personal stories with others. In the modern world, social media also effectively supports the educational process. In particular, students can find quality educational content on various specialized websites and use it in their activities. However, the question arises as to whether social media can influence the reading preferences of teenagers. The reason for this is that teenagers share different opinions and positions on social media so that they can change their reading preferences. Furthermore, the issue of teenage reading is vital since this age group is unique in terms of psychological and social aspects, which can affect their preferences. As a result, the problem of adolescent reading culture on social media and the assessment of its educational potential is relevant. It can be argued that the problem of reading on social networks is not acute enough. Yes, we have many online bookstores and bloggers exploring the issue of reading on social networks, but still, virtual reading cannot replace reading a book in paper format. This can be justified by the fact that reading a virtual book does not replace the impressions that you can get