TikTok: A News Platform?
Tik Tok is quickly and effectively becoming a new way to share news stories and opinions by reaching a new social media crowd.
TikTok has taken over the social media and content creation world.
There is not one influencer who does not have a TikTok, which is yet another way in the wide world of social media for them to create different content to attract a wider audience.
News sources like “Now This” post videos of the latest presidential speeches, protests and other newsworthy daily updates to their TikTok to inform a younger audience.
On the other side of TikTok, users share trending dances, food videos, mini video blogs of daily activities, workout videos, memes and other comedic material that are “liked” by millions, commented on and “dueted” or reacted to by their followers.
TikTok has over 800 million users, and the content varies to suit different audiences.
On the heels of George Floyd’s murder, the Black Lives Matter movement has been more active than ever, and is calling people of all colors, genders, religions and sexualities to align with them and provide a voice for the Black people of America who have been facing racial injustice.
When I think of this incredibly saddening topic and how to make a change, my mind would never normally go to TikTok. I hadn’t thought of TikTok as a way to spread awareness about something so serious and important as the Black Lives Matter movement, until recently.
In the last week, I have seen TikTok transform completely. My feed is full of videos of Minneapolis buildings in flames, the New York Police Department using physical force on the peaceful protestors, and the looting of stores in Chicago. It is also filled with Black teen boys and girls sharing their experience with micro-aggressions and racism they face every day, and white users sharing their stories of white privilege when it comes to police encounters and during everyday life.
This has now become a space to share your voice, your story and your ideas to help make a change.
With the popularity of TikTok, more and more people worldwide are able to participate in this movement than would ever have been possible before.
Think about it: The world is facing a pandemic and a racial revolution at the same time. Healthcare workers are stuck at hospitals helping COVID patients. Families are locked up inside their houses for safety.
But at the same time, we are witnessing the police murdering unarmed, cooperating and innocent Black people. It is incredible to think that a 60 second video documenting the injustices can be published to 800 million users to “like” and share — and most importantly to educate themselves.
I have been able to observe moments of these protests that the news would never cover. There are videos posted by Black people who are standing in the front lines of the protest kneeling in front of the police and videos of white or other non-black people of color marching right next to their families and friends or complete strangers to show support.
There are videos of one-on-one conversations with police officers in real time, and unfortunately, first-hand videos of violence filmed by the person getting hurt for all TikTok viewers to see.
There are also videos of people at home sharing books, movies, podcasts and articles about racism, as well as petitions to sign and places to donate to linked straight from the poster’s video caption or TikTok bio.
The advantages that we have in the digital era are game-changing. I truly believe that without all of the social media platforms available to us — and especially the ones that let you create and share your own content — the tragic events that are happening every single day to people would not be seen.
The support we are able to give each other through these unusually difficult times would never be possible without the broad-reaching possibilities of social media.
