Both the interviews and our own observations on Tik Tok revealed to us that Tik Tok is a platform that facilitates education through tools it provides to its users, the structure of the app, and more incidental qualities such as the demographics that make up its user base. 

 

Perhaps Tik Tok was not created with the intention that it be used for education, however, that does not make the existence of educational videos any less relevant, nor is it surprising that the app’s original vision would be subverted. 

 

In the article “‘I Like That It’s My Choice a Couple Different Times’: Gender, Affordances, and User Experience on Bumble Dating,” Prunchnieweska brings up the idea of “negotiated use” when discussing how the Bumble dating app is used in an alternative fashion, stating that “users can interact with the technology in unexpected ways.” She cites Shaw, who builds on Hall's theory of “negotiated use,” which describes when technology is “used correctly, but not exactly as intended.” We can think of Tik Tok in this same manner. While education is not part of Tik Tok’s intended purpose, it negotiates the platform nonetheless. However, as we will show, education not only negotiates the platform but even uses its features to its advantage so that within Tik Tok it finds a comfortable niche.

 

Interactivity

One of the features that appeal to both users and educators on Tik Tok is the app’s interactivity. Tik Tok employs a number of features that make it so the barrier between the content creator and the content consumer appears transparent.

 

For example, we noticed that after users posted questions or comments to a content creator’s video, the content creator would then be able to turn that comment into a new video using the “Reply with Video” feature. TTEs use this to reply to questions that their students pose or to elaborate on a comment, much like a teacher would in a physical classroom. For example, Matt, one of our participants and an educator on human anatomy, frequently makes videos replying to viewers’ questions, such as “why can’t our bodies function without oxygen?”

 

Viewers also have the ability to “try out” or recreate a video themselves. We noticed that videos of people dancing, for example, would be copied and sampled by many more users with the intention to learn the dance. Viewers also have the ability to “duet” a video, by playing an old video and their new video side-by-side. This allows the “student” to mimic what the “teacher" is doing, much like in a real classroom setting. For example, we observed a user using “duet” to try out a technique to achieve a blurry photo effect, originally demonstrated by a TTE and photographer we interviewed named Gina. Features such as these encourage viewers to participate more fully in learning a skill, leading to a more rewarding and successful educational experience.

 

Curiosity & Play

Interestingly, one participant named Eduardo classifies his videos as both “educational” and “entertainment.” Certainly, entertainment is a driving force behind why so many people use Tik Tok. It can also be a useful tool when applied to education. The concept of play, introduced by Thomas and Brown, is critical to understanding why Tik Tok works well as an educational platform. They define play as a type of learning driven by curiosity, in which it is left up to the viewer to decide what they want to learn about. Tik Tok obviously does not implement educational curriculums as would a traditional class - rather, it relies on the viewers to seek out information on their own will. While studying the app, we found that it was quite easy to search by a topic we were curious about, such as “pasta” or “baking,” and found abundant videos on the subject. The “Following” tab also makes it easy for users to keep track of their interests and make progress in a subject they are curious about such as coding, cooking, or history. The popularity of educational videos suggests that users are genuinely interested in exploring a variety of topics, especially because, as Jang and Zhou state, “they can learn many skills beneficial in their daily lives.”

 

Furthermore, shorter clips are more engaging and therefore hold the viewer's attention longer - according to Qiyang and Jung, “learning in the form of shorter video will significantly encourage learners to take part in task-relevant activities and reduce task-irrelevant activities.” One of our participants named Simon notes that Tik Tok stands out to him because it “involves more creativity.” The more tools an educator has at their disposal the more creatively effective they can be. The use of music clips and other video effects are especially appealing to viewers. For example, one TTE who works as a chiropractor posted a video demonstrating how to stretch your back properly, while setting his vocal instructions to the beat of Megan Thee Stallion’s song “Savage," a very popular song on the app. Integrating the educational material with the trends of the app not only engages the attention of the viewers but also makes the information fun to absorb.

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Demographics

Nearly every content creator interviewed mentioned that their ability to reach a more diverse audience is a key reason they use Tik Tok. One of our participants called Cassie who teaches about women’s history noted that “The age range of users is huge, nothing like I have seen on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook,” while another creator recognized that “the audience is definitely younger overall.”

 

Statistics support their opinions - approximately 41% of Tik Tok users are between the ages of 16 and 24 (Mohsin, 2020). It is used internationally, as it is available in over 150 countries and translated into 75 different languages. However, a large percentage of the user base is located in China and India.

 

A more diverse demographic means that educators have a wide audience that is viewing their content, which is beneficial to both their success and the dispersion of their content. However, it is especially impactful to viewers. Marginalized communities have access to information that would not otherwise be available to them, while all users have the opportunity to be educated on content that is underrepresented in traditional settings. For example, Cassie noted that “growing up, women’s history was barely taught in my school districts and even at the university I attended.” She went on to say that “I figured that if I could help empower women, or even just get the names and stories of women in history out there, it’d be worth it.”

 

Another content creator named Giovanni, who teaches about taboo sexual topics, said that his goal is to get people excited about the topic and destigmatize sex. “I’m trying to take BDSM out of the dungeon because society puts us there, it puts us in the shadows,” says Giovanni “Let’s talk it out and that way it isn’t so scary.”

 

A Fair Algorithm

Many of our participants pointed to Tik Tok’s algorithm as the reason they are able to find success, even if they define themselves as niche content creators. This was found to be a central reason as to why many stick with Tik Tok as their platform of choice. One of our TTEs named Sam, who specializes in chiropractic health, stated that Tik Tok stands out to him because “a nobody can go viral overnight. Because of this, you will see smaller creators and I like that.” Eduardo put it simply: “[Tik Tok] is the only platform that pays off if you create good content. It’s very unlikely if your content is good that you won’t be given a voice on the platform.”

 

Our observations on the app lead to the same conclusion. It was common to see an undiscovered video with very few likes appear on the “For You” page, which is part of Tik Tok’s attempt to promote less widely known content creators. The use of hashtags is another way for videos to get more views and likes, as users are able to search by hashtag, revealing other relevant videos. 

 

We also noticed that the more the “For You” page is customized to the individual user, the more that user will see videos that are less discovered but more relevant to their tastes. Therefore, mainstream videos like “dance videos” are only promoted to those who want to see them. 

 

This is important in terms of education because more niche content creators have a chance of being discovered, while educators who make “good” content that people want to see will be picked up by the algorithm and have a higher chance of success. These unknown educators can rise to stardom fairly quickly and achieve status as a “micro-celebrity,” described by Abidin.

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A Self-Crafted Image

Tik Tok is appealing for educators because it allows for a greater degree of image crafting and digital entrepreneurship than on other social media platforms. Just as an entrepreneur might go out on a limb and carve out a unique niche for themselves in the market, so too may Tik Tok Educators carve and shape their identity to what suits them. 

 

On Tik Tok, the content creator is fully in control of how they present themselves to the world, and the kind of label they assign to the work that they do on Tik Tok. This identity can be asserted through their videos, their video descriptions, or the bios on their personal profile. Simon, who is a professionally licensed doctor, advertises himself as a “medical mythbuster” in his bio. Another of our interlocutors named Keith, who works as a lawyer, writes “I educate!” These profiles additionally serve as portfolios for their work, a collection of their creative labor, and evidence of their experience, much like an artist would keep a portfolio of their artwork. 

 

Even if someone is not an official educator in the physical world, Tik Tok is a platform on which they can rebrand themselves as such and pursue that role. A few of our interlocutors were educated in a different field of expertise, or only had experience rather than formal training. During an interview, Gina stated:

 

“... it’s crazy because I think a lot of people are under the impression that I’m a full time, self-supporting photographer. A lot of people will DM me and ask me for advice and will be surprised when I tell them that I’m 19 and a marketing major…”

 

This discrepancy between Gina’s real-life experience and her crafted image on Tik Tok points to the way in which content creators have control over their digital persona. In contrast to Abidin’s “calibrated amateurism," the act of making oneself appear more amateur, Gina’s experience could be described as “calibrated professionalism," the act of making oneself appear more professional. 

 

TTEs who are more professionally experienced, or who already have an established business, note that they use Tik Tok to strengthen and promote their brand. Sam states that he likes Tik Tok because it works as “free content marketing” for his chiropractic business. Many of these “professional educators” also link their other social media accounts to their Tik Tok in order to create a consistent identity and promote their business. 

 

Going back to Gershon’s point about creating a consistent brand, we can think of Tik Tok as a tool to both craft one’s brand across a number of different online platforms, as well as a way to expand one’s skill set. Gershon notes that as a modern American worker, “one is also supposed to be a flexible self who can constantly enhance his or her collection of skills." Tik Tok presents the opportunity for those working in a professional field to expand into the realm of education, thereby increasing their professional skill-set and desirability as a worker.