Abstract

This paper explores how the social media app TikTok is used as a supportive space by the Asian diaspora to connect with their home country and represent their culture elsewhere. By focusing on different creators and content on TikTok, this paper demonstrates how Asian diasporic individuals are utilising social media to establish and maintain relationships within their network. This includes forming ties with other immigrants, people from their home country, and citizens of their new country. This paper contributes to the notion of social media’s, namely TikTok’s, ability to form and positively represent different communities. 

Keywords: Asian diaspora, representation, community building, acculturation, social media

 

INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, the use of social media platforms has been on the rise, overtaking traditional means of information sharing and community building (Hossain & Veenstra, 2016). In particular, nearly 40% of Gen Z are turning to apps such as Tiktok as their first source of information and interaction instead of Google or traditional media (Delouya, 2022). With over 1.7 billion active monthly users, TikTok allows diverse communities to form, disregarding geographical or cultural boundaries (Ceci, 2023). Users are able to create content though various formats such as videos and livestreams, whilst viewers can interact through comments, reposts and duetting videos to share their own thoughts. There is an immense variety of content on Tiktok including makeup tutorials, political discussions, and cooking. The social media platform’s algorithm plays a large role in the app’s success by focusing on the user’s interactions with recommended content (Bhandari & Bimo, 2022). The TikTok algorithm is able to match users with content that they identify with, allowing them to engage with others of similar backgrounds or interests. This promotes a sense of collective identity for different communities and can be used to gain support from wider outside communities as well (Gnach, 2017).

The Asian diaspora is a community that uses TikTok’s tools and impact to maintain their connection with their homeland as well as forming networks in their new country. This diaspora involves the spread of individuals from Asia who have migrated or have been forced to leave their home country to live abroad. Although they are living elsewhere, diasporic people still have strong connections to their home country and share similar cultural values with others in the group (Tsolidis, 2013). Diasporic people will often feel alienated by both their home country due to geographical distance, as well as the host country they reside in due to cultural differences. This makes building and maintaining connections a necessary factor for Asian diasporic individuals (Fortunati et al., 2012). TikTok plays an important role in building a supportive space for the Asian diaspora to build communities, celebrate culture and dismantle racist stereotypes.

 

SOCIAL SUPPORT

People from the Asian diaspora use TikTok as a safe space to build community and connect with others from similar cultural backgrounds. When moving countries, individuals in diasporic communities often struggle to maintain social connection due to the lack of face-to-face interaction with relatives and peers (Hossain & Veenstra, 2016). They may also feel a loss of connection with people in their home country as they try and assimilate into their new home. Using social media such as TikTok enables Asian immigrants and migrants to both alleviate the trauma of leaving their home country, whilst assisting them in building new ties in new communities (Fortunati et al., 2012). Individuals can use hashtags and sort videos by location in order to find creators or content that mirror their own experiences. Whether this be people living in their home country thinking about moving, or Asian individuals who have also moved abroad.  By interacting and forming relationships through these videos, both viewers and creators are able to form a support network.

The communities the Asian diaspora have created on TikTok act as digital third places. A third place is the concept of a public space, that is not a workplace or home, wherein individuals can interact informally for their own pleasure (Oldenburg, 1999, as cited in Wright et al., 2015). Oldenburg (1999) states that third spaces are vital for the development of communities and social vitality. Digital third spaces reiterate the core concepts of Oldenburg’s concept of third spaces but represents a more realistic representation of the interactions held online (Soukup, 2006). These digital spaces promote individual connection and a safe platform for the Asian diaspora to share their stories, whilst also promoting social civic responsibility (Stevens et. al., 2016). An example of TikTok being used to form a support network for the Asian diaspora is @jamiewujq (Wu, n.d.).  She bases her content on giving advice to young Asian people who are planning to migrate to Australia for work or study. The creator’s page acts as a digital third space that assists current and future members of the diasporic community. This can be seen in one video where she gives advice to someone who commented “Can you share more on Asian racism in Australia! I’m going there next month and I’m slightly concern about it” (Wu, 2023). By sharing her own experiences and interacting with others in the community, this TikTok account allows the Asian diaspora to connect and relate to each other.

 

TRADITIONS AND CULTURE

TikTok is also being used as a tool for the Asian diasporic community to reclaim their cultural narratives whilst living abroad. Leaving their home country can cause fragmentation in their sense of cultural identity as they try and assimilate (Bhugra & Becker, 2005). Asian diasporic individuals can also experience alienation or poor self-esteem if they struggle to fit in with the ‘majority culture’ in their new country. Being able to practice cultural components such as music and lifestyle rituals is important for Asian diasporic communities during the acculturation process (Bhugra & Becker, 2005). It allows them to stay connected with their culture as well as giving them opportunities to represent their homeland’s culture whilst living abroad.

Several songs in Asian languages have trended on the app such as ‘Tát Nhật Lãng Rực Rỡ’ in Vietnamese and ‘พี่ชอบหนูที่สุดเลย (I Like You The Most)’ in Thai (Fanny Trần, 2023; PONCHET, 2023). These songs have led to viral dance challenges on the app, with around 679.3K and 583.6K videos made with each song respectively. The vast influence TikTok has globally means that these songs are able to reach people who speak these languages but are living abroad. For example, Ten Lee, a popular idol who migrated from Thailand to South Korea,  covered ‘พี่ชอบหนูที่สุดเลย (I Like You The Most)’ and the TikTok clip has garnered over 6.5 millions views (5002hagd_, 2024) . Due to the song being viral on TikTok, Ten was able to perform in his first language and connect with his Thai culture.

The use of TikTok to promote cultural empowerment can also be seen through the content creator @kathyhealthtips (Zhang, n.d.). Tianyu Zhang, also known as Kathy, moved from China to Canada where she creates content about Chinese Traditional Medicine (kathyhealthtips, n.d.). Tianyu has amassed over 1.6 million followers and 9.6 million likes on TikTok by sharing traditional Chinese medicinal advice and acupuncture techniques. Her account enables her to preserve her Chinese culture whilst living abroad. This also provides other Chinese diasporic individuals with opportunities to partake in cultural medicinal practices that they might be otherwise unable to access abroad (Sa & Leung, 2016). By supporting different types and formats of content, such as music and educational videos, TikTok provides Asian diasporic people with many avenues to share their culture.

 

NEW COMMUNITY

Finally, TikTok can be used as a safe space wherein Asian diasporic people are able to dismantle racist ideology and build a safer wider community in their new country. Racism is a prevalent issue that a majority of the community has experienced in their host country. An Australian survey found that 84% of participants who were born in Asia have experienced racism (Blair et al., 2017). When compared to traditional ideas of communities, online spaces such as TikTok provide more ways for people from different backgrounds to access and share information (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). This makes it easier for communities to navigate through cultural alienation and stand up for themselves when presented with discrimination (Shohat & Stam, 2018).

Asian creators are using TikTok as a space to combat racist stereotypes by sharing their diverse narratives and addressing the racism they come across. Online communities surrounding food have especially played a large role in dismantling racist ideas of Asia. Korean TikTok influencer Soogia or @soogia1 has built a following of over 2.2 million by duetting videos of people mocking Asian food and culture (Soogia1, n.d.). An example of this is her video duetting musician Benny Blanco’s TikTok trying Filipino fast-food Jollibee, wherein he says it “tastes like butt” and spits the food back into the container (Soogia1, 2024). In Soogia’s response, she dissects the video and addresses his “immaturity” and racist behaviour. She also creates videos praising people for respectably trying Asian foods, even if they dislike it. As simple as this act seems, addressing these videos make a difference to members of the diaspora who may have experienced “lunch box shaming” due to their cultural foods. This occurs when others outside of the community shame cultural foods because they are not used to it (Seko et al., 2023). TikTok provides a space in which the Asian diaspora can see others in their community proudly standing up for their cultural foods in their new country and encourage them to overcome cultural alienation.

 

CONCLUSION

When having to move away, individuals from the Asian diaspora experience difficulties in keeping connected to their home country and forming ties to their new country. Social media platforms such as TikTok are providing diasporic people with a third digital space where they can share their unique narratives and view others with similar experiences. The application provides support to people undergoing acculturation whilst allowing them to maintain a strong cultural identity.  TikTok empowers the Asian diaspora and fosters community building where one can accurately and proudly represent both their old and new country.  

 

 

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