This is Part 3 of the blog series discussing the surprising benefits of TikTok on society. If you are unfamiliar with what TikTok is and/or how it works, check out Part 1 for an explanation. You can find Part 2 here.

Disclaimer: My impressions of TikTok have largely been formulated based off of my own FYP, which as explained in Part 1 is uniquely customized to what I like to see. Therefore, many readers may have a different TikTok experience if their FYPs look significantly different from mine. However, I believe most people will have at least some experience with the concepts I talk about below.

6. Seeing Through the Eyes of Others 

Another important benefit of TikTok is that it has the ability to show people what others are going through. It can often be hard to understand what another person is experiencing if one hasn’t experienced it themselves. This is often why people don’t actually manage to understand each other and they hold onto certain judgments or prejudices because they project their own worldviews onto others. We tend to expect people to react in certain ways based on our own perspectives which are shaped by our circumstances, privileges and biases, not realizing that these are different for everybody. It is challenging to leave our context behind and fully enter the shoes of another. TikTok makes it possible by showing us what others experience through their eyes. 

One of the subjects in which I’ve seen this happen often is in gender relations. Men and women see and experience the world differently and this often leads to tensions and conflicts. Despite the fact that conversations about gender dynamics and especially women’s rights have been prominent for decades, it is still hard to bridge the gap of misunderstanding when one gender projects their view of and approach to the world onto another gender. However, TikTok has taken strides in helping people understand what the other goes through. There are numerous videos on the platform of women who have secretly filmed the way men treat them when no one is watching, ranging from uncomfortable and unsolicited come-ons to aggressive stalking, break ins, and various other frightening situations. Often straight men do not experience the same kind of treatment in society as people of other genders and therefore sometimes dismiss their fears or concerns as exaggerated (perhaps because they themselves wouldn’t behave in a threatening way and don’t understand the mindset of someone who would, or perhaps because they don’t understand why certain well-meaning behavior on their part would be perceived as threatening). However, glimpses into the experience of other genders that TikTok shows us makes it impossible to ignore that these situations occur and that they are indeed concerning. 

Such videos make it easy for people to feel what the subject of the video is feeling – we can see their discomfort or fear as we, the viewers, experience the situation from their point of view. This makes the situation much more real. The fact that anybody can film a situation and upload it to the viewership of potentially millions of viewers on TikTok means that many people do so, thus pulling the viewer into their lives and showing them the injustices or offenses they often experience. There have been numerous videos on the platform of racism, harassment, homophobia, xenophobia, and other kinds of scary situations filmed by the victims or onlookers and bringing millions of TikTok viewers into realities that they may otherwise never experience. The comments under these videos are often reactions of shock or disgust or solidarity. The impact of these videos is that it increases the average user’s awareness of what other people face on a regular basis, exposing widespread injustices and cruelty that they may have previously not known about or underestimated. What’s more, this kind of civilian reporting is raw and real and it often stimulates important conversations and grows empathy for fellow citizens. 

7. Communities

Another bonding effect of TikTok is how the platform organically creates various communities. Because of the way the algorithm works, i.e. by showing you the kind of content you are interested in and that you interact with often, with continued use, TikTok learns what you enjoy most and customizes your feed to reflect that. Thus, you often begin to see the same creators again and again because they make popular videos on the subject you are interested in. Gradually, you familiarize yourself with the popular creators in your favored niche and you become aware of recurrent themes and trends, and eventually it starts feeling like a community. These communities have come to be called ____Tok, with the blank corresponding to the community. For example, booktok is like the TikTok equivalent of a book club where people recommend and discuss books. Newgirltok is the corner of TikTok where the fans of the show New Girl post their favorite scenes. And so on. These communities sometimes develop their own inside jokes stemming from popular videos and create their own terminology. Certain creators can become familiar names to users because they are very active on the platform. Hot topics are discussed and gossip is spread. In other words, TikTok communities function much like real communities. 

And as such, it offers similar benefits, allowing its members to feel a sense of identity and belonging, bringing them together with “their people” and showing them they are not alone. If you have something to say on the subject of your interest but no one to say it to in the real world, you can open the app and soon you’ll happen upon a video on the desired ____Tok and in a way you’ll feel at home. For example, I am a fan of kdramas (South Korean TV series) and when a new one airs, I have many thoughts that I’d love to share with other kdrama fans. Unfortunately, none of my friends watch kdramas and I end up feeling frustrated that I have no one to share this hobby with. However, TikTok is full of kdrama fans. I open the app and, because the algorithm knows me, within a few minutes or even seconds of scrolling I see a video from a fellow kdrama fan expressing their thoughts on the new episode. Furthermore, the comments are full of fun theories and opinions. I join the conversation and I feel a part of a community that I miss having in my real life. It can be a beautiful thing.

8. The Spreading of Important Messages

One of the TikTok’s biggest benefits is that it teaches users a variety of interesting things. There are popular accounts about self-defense tricks, personal finance and business management, science and history, and plenty of viral videos on important life hacks that can help with everyday problems that plague us all. There are so many skills that can be learned on the platform in a quick and engaging way, more efficiently than through almost any other medium, and it’s a treasure trove of new skills, valuable information and life lessons.

There are also plenty of videos on the most popular subject of all – relationships. Especially during puberty and adolescence, the topic of relationships is a popular one and many friend groups share stories and tips from their experiences about how to navigate through the world of romance and connection. However, since they are just recently venturing into it, their “insight” is often wrong or incomplete which can lead to mistakes, risks, and negative experiences for those who heed their advice. In this regard, TikTok acts as the “older sister/brother” character in the users’ lives, where older and more experienced users can share the lessons they’ve learned and thus help guide a more naïve audience. While some parents may be concerned about this kind of content on TikTok, during adolescence teens will get their hands on this information one way or another because it is the topic that interests them most. So rather than get it on the “street” from other naïve teenagers who may be spreading mistaken information or by Googling questionable terms, perhaps it is better for them to get such information from a place where hundreds of comments by regular people can confirm or deny how good the advice is based on their own experiences, and give well-meaning advice, warnings, and recommendations. In this way too, TikTok acts as a traditional community but in a 21st century medium. That being said, it is always important to have conversations about what kids/teens see and hear online because like with any community, there are unsavory corners and characters.

Because there are so many users on TikTok and videos are so short, in one session, you can see dozens or even hundreds of videos. So if there is a viral video about an important current event, it’s likely to circulate to millions quickly (especially if it is about something in the viewer’s geographic region since TikTok often shows you videos from people in your area). This means that news, PSAs and other kinds of important information can be very efficiently spread. There have been multiple instances of a user wanting to send a message to a stranger about a missed connection, lost item, cheating partner, etc. that the user encountered while out on the town, and the comments find the stranger in a matter of hours to relay the message to them. They say that everybody in the world is connected by a maximum of 6 degrees of separation, and with a platform like TikTok where millions can see one message within 24 hours, this connection chain is compressed to a single click of the @ button. 

This message-relaying feature of TikTok can also be incredibly helpful in warning people about dangers in the region, making people aware of important but not well-publicized information, and teaching people valuable lessons that may have fallen through the cracks. It gives hope for making great strides in finding kidnapped people, alerting people about terrorist acts, protecting people from human trafficking attempts, organizing help or search efforts, and sharing other important and potentially life-saving messages. Something that many people consider “just a dancing app” is actually helping save people in various ways.

Final Thoughts

This is the end of my series on the social benefits of TikTok, although I’m sure more will come to light as time goes on. The beauty of TikTok is that there is a fluid quality about it since it adapts to what is happening in the world, what its users want, and what global conversations and trends are most relevant at the moment. Although I’ve done an in-depth analysis of its social and psychological benefits, it is also sometimes “not that deep” as commenters on the platform might say. At the end of the day, even though serious conversations are often had and important social commentary is made, it is also an entertainment app with millions of fun dancing videos, jokes and cute cats. But this is important too. The fact that it has both fun and serious content, that it customizes our feed to show us all the kinds of videos we are interested in across the spectrum, is what makes it so multi-layered and valuable. It helps cheer us up, teach us things, connect us, guide us, and more. In a way, it reflects real life dynamics better than any other platform has been able to so far, and this is its strength.

In the social commentary of how social networks affect us on a psychological and social level, we often focus on the negatives, but it is important to appreciate the positives as well – we should discuss them together. Social media is here to stay and the more good we can gain from it, the better.

Check out Parts 1 and 2 of this series for the full content on this subject.