TikTok and Generation Z: Online Participation and Identification in China and Italy

Project Information

TKTKGEN

Grant agreement ID: 101030375

DOI

10.3030/101030375

Project terminated on 30 June 2023

EC signature date 15 March 2021

Start date 1 January 2022

End date 31 December 2023

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 164 036,16

EU contribution

€ 164 036,16

Coordinated by

SCUOLA NORMALE SUPERIORE
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - TKTKGEN (TikTok and Generation Z: Online Participation and Identification in China and Italy)

Reporting period: 2023-01-01 to 2023-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The fastest growing social media application video-sharing social network TikTok (known as “Douyin” in China) epitomises what may be described as a second generation of social media, ensuing the first wave of the 2000s and 2010s. Compared to firs-generation social media such as Facebook and Twitter, TikTok is marked by the dominance of audio-visual content, by light-hearted and often goofy videos, dance crazes, in which users imitate the funny dance moves popularised by young celebrities and “dubsmashers”, lip-sync to the tune of famous pop music songs or participate in all sorts of video-recorded “internet challenges” and “trends”. How are video-sharing social networks such as TikTok modifying forms of online participation and sense of group belonging among youth?

To date is little systematic research about what motivates young users in using this platform and how their style of participation differs from that of first generation social media. Engaging with these questions TKTKGEN project has studied the use of TikTok and Douyin among young people in China and Italy, exploring forms and motivations of online participation and the way they relate to the new attitudes, values and forms of social experience of generation Z. By means of extensive fieldwork comprising social media analysis, interviews and a survey, the project has provided a better understanding of the transformation in the online experience of young people and its impact on identity, belonging and community. Qualitative interviews and a survey of TikTok users showed that - compare with first-generation social media, this platform is used chiefly for entertainment and distraction rather than social-networking and self-presentations. While connection to networks of friends, acquaintances, relatives and colleagues was central to first-generation social media this aspect has limited importance on TikTok.

TikTok's rise also has important consequences for online communities. Despite the platform’s notable role as an arena for the most disparate subcultures the experience of users is more individualized compared to previous social media and requires less self-exposure and self-assertion as part of a group. This contributes to nurturing online communities that are highly fleeting. Furthermore, due its focus on recommender systems which automates much access to information the platform fosters a more passive user ethos than other social media, taking more often the form of mere online content consumption than "participation" in any way or form. Yet, the very success of the platform's mode of operation should be read as a reflection of a widespread fatigue with social media, the personal exposure they entail and proneness to "flames". All in all, by generating these findings the TKTKGEN project has allowed to glean a better understanding of these important practices and their social consequences, as well as offering the PI training, career development and research networking opportunities that will enable future research on this and related issues.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project has involved theoretical and empirical work geared at advancing our understanding of the platform’s social consequences. Empirical research involved the collection of social media data for the purpose of qualitative case study analysis, qualitative interviews and a survey. 23 qualitative interviews were conducted with Chinese and Italian Douyin/TikTok users. Interviews offered insights about the subjective motivations and “uses and gratifications” associated with the use of the platform. A survey of 850 young people (aged 18-35) was conducted in Italy explored differences in attitudes and behaviour between TikTok users and non-users, their "social media diet", motivations for online participatio trust in other people and institutions, optimism about the future, etc.

The project has generated 4 publications:
1) a journal article which explores "home mediation" on Douyin and the way in which the home is at the same time a physical node of media production and a key theme in the communication channeled on this platform
2) a chapter in an edited collection on the Politics of TikTok focusing on the use of TikTok as a means of propaganda drawing on examples from Spain and Latin America
3) a journal article which discusses the difference in the logic of communication of TikTok vis-a-vis first generation social media platforms as a shift from a logic of social networking to one of social interest clustering
4) a journal article drawing on the Italian survey data to explore the difference in attitudes and behaviour between TikTok users and non-users.

Dissemination of the project’s findings within the academic community has comprised presentations at various seminars and conferences, such as the International Sociological Association 2023 Conference. Furthermore the project has generated coverage in the news media including an interview which appeared on the evening news programme of La 1 channel of Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. In line with the principles of open science, research data from the survey has been uploaded to the Zenodo research repository allowing other researchers to exploit the results.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project has explored the forms of participation and community belonging emerging on TikTok/Douyin vis-a-vis the first generation of social media (in particular platforms such as Twitter and Facebook), elucidating both the attitudes and cultural codes that are prevalent on this platform and the motivation guiding users. In so doing it aims at creating knowledge on video-sharing platforms that while being widely diffused especially among young people continue to be understudied relative to other platforms.

The project has pushed beyond the state of the art of our understanding of the platform and its social consequences by highlighting the profound impact on forms of online experience especially those of young peiople. In particular, two findings stand out as an addition to the literature.

1. The more entertainment-oriented and light-hearted character of Douyin and TikTok vis-a-vis first-generation social media carries a more optimistic and positive tuning of content (mainly stemming from the prevalence of genres as lip-syncing and dance crazes that often involve an element of self-irony) compared to text-based platforms while the presence of toxic and aggressive content is less frequent as it does not chide with the prevalent ethos of the platform. This correlates with a greater level of trust and optimism among TikTok users rather than non-users raising interesting questions as to whether this is at least partly a result of platform use.

2. The prevalent forms of user experience on the platform is markedly less participatory than that of early social media. This stems, besides the energy required to produce video content, from the platform's reliance on recommender systems to access relevant information. This more passive mode of use has important social and political implications. The democratic potential of early social media was seen as stemmig from their participatory ethos, while on TikTok we see a return of forms of spectatorship that are more reminiscent of the logic of broadcasting than networking.

6458016.jpg