Does it have a happy ending?

The relationship between literature and spoilers on TikTok

Authors

  • Leonardo Pastor Universidade Federal de Sergipe
  • Lisane Rocha Universidade Federal de Sergipe

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29146/eco-ps.v28i1.28269

Keywords:

TikTok, BookTok, Spoiler, reading, books

Abstract

As in other social networks, TikTok has become a space for interaction and discussion among readers, forming a community known as BookTok. Considering an experience model based on algorithmic recommendation, observations on this platform reveal a practice that would typically be considered incompatible with reading habits: the prior revelation of narrative details and endings, known as spoilers. Therefore, this article aims to understand how the practice of spoilers is developed in the interaction among readers within the algorithmic environment of TikTok. To achieve this, we employ a methodology for app studies (walkthrough method) to explore the platform and make visible the content and relationships among readers around book spoilers. We demonstrate that this practice of spoilers becomes part of a filtering process for reading options, as well as constituting a significant factor in the experience and interaction among readers on TikTok.

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Author Biographies

Leonardo Pastor, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Leonardo Pastor é professor do Departamento de Comunicação Social e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação da Universidade Federal de Sergipe. É pesquisador do Núcleo de Estudos sobre Corpos, Sensibilidades e Ambientes (ECSAS/UFBA) e do Laboratório de Análise de Visualidades, Narrativas e Tecnologia (LAVINT/UFS). 

Lisane Rocha, Universidade Federal de Sergipe

Lisane Rocha é graduada em Publicidade e Propaganda pela Universidade Federal de Sergipe.

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Published

2025-06-19

How to Cite

Pastor, L., & Rocha, L. (2025). Does it have a happy ending? : The relationship between literature and spoilers on TikTok. Revista Eco-Pós, 28(1), 548–571. https://doi.org/10.29146/eco-ps.v28i1.28269