By Izzy Becker ‘24, Feature Writer

As social media forums have evolved over time, they have become an important tool in sparking political interest in younger generations. Platforms like Instagram and now TikTok have pioneered this media-originated political development as creators are able and encouraged to post content of all extremes: while some choose to make lively dances to inspire a sense of community during this unprecedented time, others make profound videos advocating for social justice.

TikTok, created by media giant Zhang Yiming, has accumulated around 800 million users worldwide in the four years that it has been thriving as a social platform. While being incredibly user-driven, TikTok has also issued multiple statements imparting both their support of political conversations and promising to provide users with necessary political information and resources. As seen from the News section of their website, TikTok “isn’t an app built around political debates or real-time news.” The company wants to ensure that their users feel supported “with access to authoritative information if they’re having relevant conversations.” Additionally, as of October 28, 2020, TikTok added an in-app election guide that gives timely political information; this information includes descriptions about local, state, and federal candidates, as well as accessible links and resources relating to mail-in or walk-in ballots, encouraging young generations to vote.

But how does all of this relate to this year’s presidential election, specifically? This election season has inspired many young content creators to form communal group accounts in which they can share content and ideas, promoting their views or favorable candidates. For example, the account @TikTokforbiden was created a few months before the election and is run by various creators. The account has racked up an impressive 1.1 million followers since its first post in early October. Popular TikTokers including @nmillz and @siennamae have made appearances on the account, inspiring young viewers to ignite political change. Their TikToks advocated for former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in their successful campaigns to become the President-elect and Vice President-elect, respectively. Representing an opposing party, TikTok account @therepublicangirlls has also received a lot of attention for their informative and opinionated TikToks, conveying their support for President Donald Trump as well as other political agendas or issues like healthcare, climate change, and education.

Not only have these TikTok accounts changed the perspective or political interest of both young and future voters, but they have also created direct political change through humorous social media stunts. For example, a group of TikTok teens came together to reserve an astonishing 10,000 seats at the Bank of Oklahoma Center’s 19,199 seat venue prior to President Donald Trump’s rally. The seats were reserved not to show support for Trump, but to deceive his campaign, creating the belief that the rally would have an extremely large turnout only for none of the TikTokers to show up. Social media strategies like these are ongoing and shift the attention away from big politicians, highlighting the voices and opinions of a younger audience of voters or politically motivated people.

The immense political progress that has been made over the past few months only foreshadows the change that is yet to come, highlighting the ability of platforms like TikTok to inspire conversation and develop current politics. Further, these forms of content constitute a new wave of political movements and inspire a plethora of relevant questions like: What happens when TikTok is left behind for another app?; how will this continue to affect political issues in the future?; and how does each content creator of TikTok play a larger role in the political expansion of the app? In the coming years, social media will change and transform between purposes and platforms, but it will always continue to provide methods that will lead to the social awareness of all users.