TikTok may be best known for its viral challenges and surreal skits, but the social media app is evolving into much more than a platform for comedy. How are Gen Zers using this digital channel to educate and inspire their peers? And how are their online communities impacting their offline lives?
Scope
As bushfires ravaged parts of Australia in December 2019, the nation’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, chose to go on a family holiday to Hawaii. While he relaxed on beaches and posed for pictures with tourists, Aussie Gen Zers flooded TikTok with parody videos slamming his decision. From imagining his attempt to avoid a fire-themed radio playlist to mocking the way he’d have to creep back into the country, the videos exemplify the new direction young users are taking the platform. [1]
- 1. 'Aussie Gen Zers turn to satire to cope with bushfires', Canvas8 (January 2020)
- 2. 'Advertisers see early promise in TikTok’s self-serve ad platform', Digiday (January 2020)
- 3. 'TikTok bans political ads', PR Week (October 2019)
- 4. 'TikTok denies censoring a teen who criticized China's concentration camps — they said they banned her after a joke about Osama Bin Laden thirst', BuzzFeed (November 2019)
- 5. 'Teens are making viral mass-shooting memes on TikTok', The Prospector (September 2019)
- 6. 'Is time against TikTok?', GlobalWebIndex (August 2019)
- 7. 'TikTok has a predator problem. A network of young women is fighting back', BuzzFeed (June 2019)
- 8. 'This viral TikTok from a deaf creator is moving people to learn sign language', BuzzFeed (September 2019)
- 9. 'Teens are using TikTok to talk about mental health, relationship abuse, and sexuality', The Philadelphia Inquirer (December 2019)
- 10. 'Without NSFW content there is no Tumblr', i-D (December 2018)
- 11. 'Tumblr loses almost a third of its users after banning porn', Mashable (March 2019)
- 12. 'How queer teens are using Instagram’s ‘close friends’ function to open up', i-D (May 2019)
- 13. 'For LGBTQ teens, TikTok is the new Tumblr', MEL (July 2019)
- 14. 'How gay TikTok became gay Tumblr for Gen Z', i-D (October 2019)
- 15. ''A way for everything to seem less hopeless': Teens are using humor on TikTok to meme the news', NBC News (October 2019)
- 16. 'Why is everyone and their mom on TikTok?', Canvas8 (November 2019)
- 17. 'The wildly popular TikTok app is becoming an unlikely place for women to talk about infertility and reproductive health — and it's a clear sign the platform is for more than just teens', Business Insider (November 2019)
- 18. Interview with Stefan Pollack conducted by the author
- 19. 'Queer teens flood TikTok with hilariously dark Mike Pence ‘conversion camp’ memes', Pink News (January 2020)
- 20. 'Young, Amish, and TikTok famous', The Cut (November 2019)
- 21. '’A beautiful chorus' — leftists are using TikTok to break down socialism for the next generation of voters', BuzzFeed (December 2019)
- 22. 'Teens are going viral with theatrical history lessons on TikTok. These history educators are thrilled', Time (November 2019)
- 23. 'Teens are making historical events go viral on TikTok – what does a history teacher think?', The Guardian (November 2019)
- 24. 'Future of the Classroom', Google for Education (2019)
- 25. 'School teacher workforce', Gov.uk (January 2020)
- 26. 'The diversity gap for public school teachers is actually growing across generations', Brookings (March 2019)
- 27. 'Beyond dance trends: TikTok on creating an environment of activism', PR Week (January 2020)
- 28. 'Teens would like you to know social media is actually good so leave us alone, mom', Intelligencer (November 2018)
- 29. Interview with Janek Seevaratnam conducted by Canvas8
- 30. 'TikTok for good – how can charities use TikTok to raise awareness and engage audiences?', Charity Digital (November 2019)
- 31. Charitable activities more popular with young people than Love Island,’ UK Fundraising (August 2019)
- 32. 'This teen used TikTok to organise a strike in solidarity with her teachers', Dazed (September 2019)
- 33. 'The global March for Science started with a single Reddit thread', Quartz (April 2017)
- 34. 'Inspired by Reddit's #trashtag, people around the world are cleaning up the planet', Triple J (March 2019)
- 35. 'The power of community', Reddit | YPulse (September 2019)
- 36. 'Twitter’s big bet on topics and lists is just getting started', Fast Company (December 2019)
- 37. 'Facebook is experimenting with ‘upvotes’ and ‘downvotes’ for its comment section', Digital Information World (April 2019)
- 38. 'Social media putting 'overwhelming pressure' on young people', Prince’s Trust (February 2019)
- 39. 'How charities are using TikTok to raise funds', Forbes (December 2019)
- 40. 'Sex education is so bad these teens are doing it on TikTok', The Daily Beast (November 2019)
- 41. 'High schools to TikTok: we’re catching feelings', The New York Times (October 2019)
TikTok: short-form videos for creative collaboration
Vine and Snapchat may have popularised the short video format on social platforms, but TikTok has broadened the medium’s potential, allowing users to join viral crazes with just their phones. As Gen Z’s attention spans shrink, the app offers an easy way to participate in a wider digital community.
Why is everyone and their mom on TikTok?
Video-sharing platform TikTok is almost synonymous with teenagers – but now their mothers are getting involved. Meet a new generation of parents: playful, meme-loving lip-syncers who are creating some of the most popular content on the platform.
Fortnite's TikTok dance-off lets Gen Zers get creative
What happens when the world’s most popular video game joins forces with the fastest-growing social network? Turns out, a dance competition. Fortnite and TikTok's emote contest is giving Gen Zers a chance to use their creativity to be immortalised in the game and earn digital fame.
Spiritual Gen Zers discover witchcraft on TikTok
With its viral dances and absurd humor, TikTok seems like an unlikely place to rediscover witchcraft. But thanks to its 'For You' page, which randomizes the videos that appear on a user's feed, the occult practice is reaching wider audiences and appealing to Gen Z's desire for inclusive spirituality.