Politics TikTokified: Generation Z, short videos and the transformation of participation
TikTok is not only the most popular social media platform among young people. It is a platform that has radically transformed the way we use social media and the internet, as many other digital platforms are now trying to follow suit, and mimic its logic. The platform has popularised a format of algorithmic curation of content that introduces a significant break from the social networked publics of first-generation social media such as Facebook and Twitter. However, its long-term consequences on society continue to remain quite unclear, given that to date surprisingly little research has been conducted on TikTok users, their experience, views and attitudes.
This gap in our knowledge of the effect of TikTok is finally been remedied through research such as the the European Project TKTKGEN that I have conducted under the auspices of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship at Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence and Fudan University in Shanghai, and similar surveys such as the one that has been conducted by the Eteron institute in Greece. The survey comprised a total of over 900 respondents aged 18-35, of which 500 were TikTokers. Drawing answers from these two constituencies, allowed to compare and contrast the views and attitudes of those using the platforms with those that did not use it, thus providing useful insights to better ascertain what is unique about TikTok.
The TKTKGEN survey provided several rather counter-intuitive insights about Gen Z experience, vis-à-vis a representation of the platform that has tended to be quite negative, especially since the US decided to ban it on the grounds of national security. Italian TikTok users appeared to be more optimistic, more socially integrated and to participate more than non-users at least in some political activities, though displaying a lower rate of participation in the last elections.
Among Italian TikTok users the agreement with the statement “I feel like I have a lot to be proud of,” is 21% higher than that of non-TikTokers, while with the phrase “it’s easy for me to relax,” the difference between the two is 26%. This is interesting as it seems to indicate, that against the media representation of TikTokers as pathologically anxious, what we see here, is that TikTok users seem to appear more satisfied with life and more socially integrated. Regarding social capital, the TKTKGEN research found that TikTok users agreed much more with phrases such as “interacting with people online and offline makes me feel part of a community” (a 23% edge over non-users), “online or face to face I always come into contact with new people” (+20%), “the people I interact with would help me fight an injustice” (+20%). These answers seem to propose a more complex picture on TikTok users from the stereotypical one that would see them as atomised and alienated.
The same goes for indicators of social trust, which tend to be significantly higher among TikTokers for basically all social categories that were polled, including influencers (+20% in positive opinion among TikTok users compared to non-users), companies (+20%) and the media (+19%). This is important as social trust is often considered as an important proxy for psychological well-being and a condition which is conducive to social and political participation.
But does the greater trust of TikTokers translate into greater social and political participation? This connection is only testified in part by the research data I gathered. TikTok users appear to participate more in social political activities, such as signing petitions or referendums (+16%), volunteering (+15%) and being involved in political parties (+14%), however, their participation in the last elections in Italy, was slightly lower than that of non-TikTokers. This may have different explanations, for example owing to the low electoral attendance of the last election, and how this was particularly strong among young people compared to the previous elections. Or it may stem from the fact that while interested in politics, TikTokers tend to be more suspicious of formal and institutional politics. While establishing these causal links is difficult with the data gathered in the research, at the very least the narrative of TikTok Gen Z as politically apathetic and atomised, often channeled in the news media appears highly questionable.
The research points to some similarities with the survey of young Greek TikTok users conducted by the Eteron institute. The TKTKGEN research also found that entertainment was by far the most important motive in using the platform among young people, and that humorous content was an important component of what people saw on the platform. Also, the rates of participation in political activities reported by participants in this survey is quite high, with only one in three respondents declaring they did not take part in any political activity. Further, the Eteron survey also provides some interesting insights about how TikTok can be conducive towards some forms of political participation.
While only a small number follow politics on TikTok very often (10%), a share coherent with the dominant use of the platform as a source of entertainment, a larger number follows political issues quite often (31%). Further, it is interesting that the number of respondents that think that TikTok can be beneficial for democracy is significantly higher than that of respondents who are pessimistic. All in all, what these surveys show is that on the one hand, TikTok has become part of young people’s experience of social and political participation, and that, while this platform primary use is non-political and geared towards entertainment, TikTok use is progressively also affecting the way young people access political issues. This calls for more sustained and in-depth research effort, and for bracketing some of the media moral panics around this platform and its use, to more rigorously approach the impact it is having on contemporary social and political experience.
