TikTok and Social Movements
There is no question how much social media has changed the way society functions. The world is instantly connected just with a few taps of their fingertips — friends and families are able to stay in touch effortlessly, information and news can be spread at extreme rates, and users are able to even help shape a movement.
In 2020, the world quickly learned how effective social media can be when influencing social movements, even during a global pandemic. Because many were not comfortable leaving home and being in large public places to protest yet, it did not mean they could not make a difference from home. Social media allowed many to connect, show support, learn, share resources, and so much more. It was an incredible example of how social media can be used to make a positive impact and amplify a movement.
While we all saw this play out on many platforms, one, in particular, has a strong impact on many social movements: TikTok. The “dancing app” is probably seen as an unlikely hero of social movements, but “it depicts a diverse, diffuse and not nearly united community of millions of young people discovering the capabilities and limits of a platform that is, despite its many similarities with predecessors, a unique and strange place.”
According to this article on YPulse, “57% of 13–39-year-olds believe that they have the power to change things in the real world if they make enough noise online, while 42% of 13–39-year-olds have used a hashtag on social media to support a social movement.” We have seen this in action with many social movements since TikTok’s rise to popularity. Because of the app’s incredible content-favoring algorithm, we have seen online communities form in many different niches across the platform. Whether it be cooking TikTok, dog TikTok, or even dancing TikTok, there is a community for almost anyone who downloads the app. Society has even seen a community that spans countries come together to support causes. Some examples the YPulse article calls out are “the #StopAsianHate movement, climate change, and LGBTQ+ rights.” Users on the platform even had a massive effect during the last presidential election — a “mass false-registration drive” was organized, resulting in not even a fraction of the attendance organizers were expecting. “That massive political trolling effort made headlines, and called attention to the power TikTok could play in politics and social justice…”
Another example the article calls out is the James Corden “Spill Your Guts” segment — in his show’s segment, celebrity guests are forced to either answer a question or eat “something “unusual” from a different country.” User Kim Saira made a video calling out the racism of the segment, garnering 2.9 million views and over 47k signatures on a petition to get the segment removed — resulting in success.
These are just a few examples that show the power of TikTok’s community. Because the app shows valuable content regardless of follower count, users are able to amplify voices and causes more than ever before, which is truly incredible to see.
