If there is one thing folks on the internet are going to do, it is clown people for even the smallest reasons, and Root 100 honoree Kai Cenat is the latest victim of social media’s relentless trolling.
Suggested Reading
On Tuesday, Dec. 16, the Twitch streamer posted a story to his personal Instagram account, @kc3hidd3n, where he told followers he noticed his vocabulary improving because he has been reading more.
“Noticed I’ve been speaking better because I’ve been reading,” the since-deleted post read.
While there is nothing wrong with making a conscious effort to improve your vocabulary by setting aside time to read—in fact, it can be admirable in the age of social media, where reading for pleasure is less common—folks clowned Cenat’s post because of his book of choice: the self-help book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
“Flexing a book that every teenage boy buys when they get 2 am motivation,” wrote one user.
“Grabbed the first thing off the shelf at Target,” wrote another.
“That f*** a** book lmao might as well read green eggs and ham,” added another.
However, while people online attempt to gain likes by poking fun at Cenat, there is one glaring question they should be asking themselves: Why are we making fun of others for trying to be better?
Sure, “Atomic Habits” might not be regarded as a challenging literary classic such as “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston or “Beloved” by Toni Morrison, but that does not mean Cenat’s efforts should be dismissed and pushed aside.
Across the United States, there is a concerning literacy crisis. Studies show 32% of high school seniors scoring below the basic level on reading proficiency tests, which is the lowest level since 1992, according to CNN. And as of 2025, reading for pleasure in the U.S. has fallen by 40%, with bigger drops seen across the Black community, especially among Black men, according to The Guardian.
Therefore, when you consider someone like Kai Cenat, who has a predominantly teenage fanbase and over 20 million followers on Twitch, along with 18 million followers across both his Instagram accounts, his influence on others—teenagers especially—cannot be dismissed.
If something as simple as a story about reading on Cenat’s Instagram can be reposted across social media platforms, the streamer will also affect the way folks choose to engage with books. The proof is in the pudding; one user on X said they are considering buying “Atomic Habits” after seeing Cenat reading it.
“I seen Kai Cenat post that Atomic Habits book for building good habits and breaking bad ones, and ppl saying it’s good sooo I think I needa tap in,” they wrote.
Another user asked if there was an e-book available: “How can I get the e-book?”
People online may not be impressed with the book Cenat chose to read, but they shouldn’t criticize the Twitch streamer for reading it, especially since his teenage fans are inspired to read just by seeing him do so.
However, if Kai Cenat is on the lookout for books to add to his reading list, we at The Root have a whole bunch of suggestions for him.
Straight From 
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