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TikTok is a huge playing factor in how youth culture is being shaped today, but what exactly is going on? Intrigued and want to dive deeper? Then, ask a professional from domyessay.com reviews so you can take the weight of routine tasks off your shoulders and explore something new and exciting. Now, let’s see how this app has become a potent platform for sharing and creativity. How exactly does it impact students today?
Overview: The Digital Play Space
TikTok has turned into a cultural phenomenon. It’s become home to movements, thought groups, subcultures, and a direct reflection of youth culture.
Content shared on TikTok usually pushes the boundaries and can be very creative or provocative. From dance challenges and comedy skits to subculture trends, there’s something for everybody. But it’s not just about the trends. Students use TikTok to discuss and engage in conversations with their fellow youth about serious topics.
TikTok doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. So, let’s try to understand all the ways this potent app is shaping our youth’s culture. We might come to new conclusions, and you never lose anything by learning something new and being vigilant of what’s already out there.
A New Way to Learn
TikTok has paved a path of learning for students everywhere. From history, chemistry, and politics to English, you can learn through collaboration on TikTok. Students have taken it upon themselves to take advantage of the short video format that the app provides by sharing educational content on many different topics. You can find truly niche stuff on the app.
From tutorials to life advice to brief snippets of information, you’ll find it on TikTok. However, this potentially shapes student culture in a negative way as well. While the bite-sized format proves to be efficient and engaging, it’s also habituating many students to shorter content and, therefore, directly impacting their ability to focus.
Visual and fast learning can be helpful on the go, but over time, many students might find themselves unable to focus for longer periods.
For example, a research article by Wilmer, H. H., Sherman, L. E., & Chein, J. M. in 2017 stated that endless exposure to TikTok’s videos conditions users to get used to instant gratification, which will simultaneously make it very hard to focus on longer tasks in the long run.
A Digital Play Space for Expression, Art, & Identity
For millennials, the internet and platforms like YouTube and Facebook were where most youth hung out in digital cyberspace before Instagram and TikTok. For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, TikTok is the cyberspace for expression, art, and identity. What do students get up to?
- Influencer generation
- Sharing personal stories
- Joining subcultures and trendy communities
- Joining like-minded communities
Teenagehood and growing into adulthood have always been a colorful time for self-discovery and self-expression. TikTok, just like other social media platforms, has become the chosen cyberspace for the youth to do this. And, of course, since it’s a bit different from Facebook or YouTube, it shapes the way youth express themselves a bit differently, too.
Body positivity, mental health, feminism, and all types of discussions involving expression and identity can be found in the app. If you want to get in on the discussion, you only need to search it up. Art, music, and fashion with trends like Y2K and DnB (which are from the 90s) are gaining popularity once again, and nostalgic trends are IT right now.
On the contrary, more visibility comes with more scrutiny. Cyberbullying, trolling, and dealing with hateful comments are part of the package when you choose to share online. That’s why the youth need to develop critical thinking skills and be mindful of what they post and what they want to share with others.
The Youth Are Pioneers
Many students not only passively watch trends but also take part in them, and some even create new trends: dances, storytelling, humorous trends, or initiatives for self-development. The student generation is very active, engaged, and creative on the TikTok platform.
The shift from consuming to creating has made it possible for many young people to make a living from their content. Being an influencer nowadays can mean making a lot of money or doing something that you enjoy. The content economy has grown bigger because of TikTok, and it is shaping the road ahead in addition to platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
Yet again, we have a dark side we need to acknowledge when discussing these topics about TikTok. Becoming internet-famous and the appeal of going “viral” might be honing the wrong values in students. There’s a danger of being engrossed in being popular, but important values like developing authenticity and kindness might take a backseat.
Sharing as a Therapeutic Activity
Many students seem to use platforms like Instagram or TikTok as a sort of public diary. It’s a digital book of sorts where they share their big and small experiences. They engage with their following, especially those who can relate to them. They discuss serious topics or share their humor.
By checking a person’s profile, you can get a glimpse of someone’s life. Depending on what someone shares, you can get a peek at someone’s personality, aspirations, or even insecurities. In a sense, many people use sharing as a therapeutic activity. It’s not exclusive to this generation, but it’s been made easier with a platform like TikTok.
Oversharing and becoming exposed to danger because of oversharing are all too real. There’s a sweet spot where students can share without it becoming a threat.
Final Thoughts
TikTok has modernized the way that students share and engage in their culture and subcultures, but it’s nothing new. While the platform has shaped a new way we take in information, it has merely replaced older platforms for the newer generations.
However, it has fortified the content creator market and given many students a chance to try something new and succeed at it.
