Exploring the Relationship between Personal Narrative and Online Advocacy on TikTok

 

Abstract

This conference paper will discuss the role of identity formation through the utilisation of TikTok, focusing on the importance of personal narratives and online advocacy as well as how the two work together to spread awareness. It is arguing that TikTok is a powerful tool in driving social change through constructing identities by sharing personal narratives as well as engaging in online advocacy. The research presented will explore how TikTok aids in this process and explores the intricate relationship between identity and online advocacy and the implications on identity formation and engagement. This paper will also be acknowledging counterarguments as well as re-affirming the argument being presented.

 

Introduction

Through the development of technology social media revolutionised the way individuals construct their identities and methods of self-expression. Social media allows individuals to express themselves creatively and produce content based on individual thoughts, beliefs and values. By producing content authentic to the user communities are established with like-minded people. These communities can be utilised to encourage personal narrative and online advocacy. Personal narrative establishes a close relationship between content creators and viewers, sharing personal experiences through authentic and relatable content fosters an environment of solidarity and comfort. TikTok is a platform that can be utilised as a powerful tool to promote online advocacy and spread awareness through one-minute videos on a global scale. The relationship between personal narrative and online advocacy is extremely important for driving social change. Social media utilises identity formation and engagement to allow users to promote their values and beliefs onto a digital community. This essay will examine how TikTok is utilised to form identity and promote online advocacy.

 

Personal Narratives in Identity Construction

Personal narratives allow for the development of individual personalities and identities which in turn allows individuals to discover their values, beliefs, experiences, establish relationships and more. TikTok originated as the social media platform Musical.ly, Musical.ly was limited to the fact it was a platform well known for allowing users to create 15 second lip-syncing videos (What Happened to Musical.ly? A Story of Its Merger with TikTok, n.d.). Musical.ly ultimately merged to become TikTok and therefore the transition was smooth, the content being produced changed and gained significant popularity. TikTok heavily benefits from its ability to stand out from other social media platforms, users of the application create short-form video style content that is authentic and relatable to a wider audience than before. Users share personal stories and experiences in engaging ways that establishes a close relationship with viewers, this narrative is constructed through the utilisation of video editing, music/audio, effects.  Creating this environment establishes a relationship between influencers and their audience and fosters a sense of intimacy and community. TikTok allows for self-expression and creativity which allows influencers to convey their personal narrative to their audience. TikTok allows for creative freedom, this makes the platform open to a diverse audience. By being authentic and sharing personal experiences, communities form based on common interests, this builds supportive communities and works as a safe space for individuals to express themselves freely. LQBTQ+, Mental Health and Relationships are all examples of communities present on TikTok. Providing a platform for marginalised communities also provides them with opportunities and exposure and allows more people to share their personal narrative and establish strong communities (Willingham, 2024).

Communities like these can make individuals who feel isolated provide a sense of community and solidarity and be a voice for those who may not feel like they can advocate for themselves.

 

Online Advocacy on TikTok

TikTok has grown to become one of the largest and most used social media platforms, in 2022 it was the most downloaded app (Jackson, 2021). TikTok has built several communities for individuals to find like-minded content and these platforms are a place for online advocacy. Online advocacy utilises technology to promote social awareness with the goal of achieving a positive change (Digital Advocacy Campaigns: A Data-Driven Approach, n.d.). Campaigns, fundraisers, challenges, hashtags are all examples of ways social media can be utilised to promote online advocacy. It is important to have a platform where online advocacy is relevant as it spreads awareness about current issues in the world whether that be environmental, political or social. A study has shown that 77% of users are stating that TikTok has helped to educate them on social justice and politics (Oluoch, 2023). Users can and do often create content to support causes they are passionate about. By creating informative videos, it can work as a call to action and spread awareness on relevant issues and aid in encouraging support. Social media has become crucial in driving social change as it can reach individuals on a global scale and advocate for movements, minorities and issues occurring around the world. TikTok works on an algorithm and relays relevant content to users based on content they have engaged with in the past. One of the most notable movements is the #BlackLivesMatter movement. The hashtag has more than 4.9 billion views, this hashtag promoted advocacy for the community spreading awareness on racial injustice (Janfaza, 2020). The hashtag allowed people to share experiences, tips on protesting and safety, resources regarding injustice and links to donations to aid the movement(Janfaza, 2020). Once Roe vs Wade was overturned, individuals who were located in states the law had not yet impacted, were offering places to stay and offering financial help to allow women to access the procedure, this issue made women feel isolated and the support from these communities’ helped women to feel united and less alone (Oluoch, 2023). Another example of online advocacy is the invasion of Ukraine, influencers with large platforms were speaking about the issue to reach a wider audience, providing links to education and links to donate (Oluoch, 2023). Utilising TikTok to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves provides a sense of unity and educates individuals in learning how they can best help aid in these circumstances. It is important to educate people in attempt to lessen issues for minorities and prevent them from repeating in the future. TikTok provides information in a comprehensive manner, by limiting videos to a minute in length it means issues need to be explained concisely. Delivering these heavy issues in a short explanation allows users to gain an easier understanding and sparks conversation and encourages change. Utilising personal narrative to convey advocacy can often be effective in conveying emotion and encouraging support from the audience.

 

The Relationship between Personal Narratives and Advocacy

Personal narrative and online advocacy via work together to spread awareness on current issues and aid in driving social change. Individuals often share personal stories and experiences as a mode of advocating for what they believe in. Spreading these important messages not only spreads awareness but also aids in social change by removing stereotypes and discrimination and instead promoting communities that are inclusive and safe for those who are marginalised. Sharing personal narratives puts individuals in a vulnerable position susceptible to opinion. Being vulnerable builds trust and authenticity from viewers, this trust can be utilised to encourage change and promote union as well as communicating urgency in helping the issue. Promoting union ensures that individuals who feel alone have a safe common ground where they are comfortable to express their true identity. Minorities often struggle for support in their own lives and have to often seek support and encouragement elsewhere, there are several online communities for LGBTQ+, mental health and racial issues. Individuals utilise these virtual communities to seek strength, support and empowerment to drive change and fight against systematic injustice.

 

Identity Formation and Engagement

The relationship between personal narratives and online advocacy on TikTok has a great impact on identity formation and engagement. This relationship allows a place for like-minded individuals to come together and build a community by sharing similar personal experiences and form connections. This develops a sense of unity and enables individuals to feel comfortable to share their values and beliefs. TikTok is a platform where individuals can be comfortable with showing off their authentic personalities and celebrating individuality and being praised for it. The platform also encourages engagement through the methods of liking, following, commenting and sharing and receiving more engagement also consolidates self-esteem (Zuo & Wang, 2019). By spreading awareness about these issues can make individuals feel as though they have to do their social due diligence and feel like they have a responsibility to uphold. By raising awareness about these issues individuals spread awareness through petitions, protesting, volunteering, donating, online advocacy and more, these are acts of social justice and work towards solidarity. Participating in and sharing these tools spreads awareness on a wider scale reaching a more diverse target audience.

 

Acknowledging Counterarguments

Due to TikTok being a very accessible and creatively free platform it does open up individuals to potential reception of criticism especially when it comes to online advocacy and social and political issues. With minorities comes majorities where the opinion of the majority is projected onto the minority and delays the awareness, development and resolution of issues. The TikTok algorithm and data can be altered to have bias and promote certain users over others and this creates a space of inequality and misrepresentation. It can also be argued that online advocacy can be superficial as it can often lack tangible offline results. TikTok allowing a one-minute time limit per video can often cause major issues to be oversimplified and this can confuse viewers and cause them to undermine the severity of the issue. This can also lead to information and impact the message and facts being conveyed online. Providing misinformation on serious issues can lead to confusion and unintentionally lead to people supporting the wrong side and going backwards rather than forwards. Social media is never certain and as technology continues to evolve new platforms develop and this could potentially interfere with voices being heard and awareness being spread online in the future. Whilst it is apparent TikTok can lead to confusion and spread of misinformation regarding current issues it is also clear that it is important to keep people talking and advocating for the benefit of minorities and acting as a voice for the voiceless.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, TikTok works as a powerful instrument in development of identity construction where the relationship between personal narratives and online advocacy aid in shaping individual identities and encourage social change. By maximising use of social media to encourage personal narrative and online activism. TikTok content creators can spread awareness and act as a voice for marginalised communities, this also increases engagement and promotes the content on a wider scale. Whilst TikTok does present some limitations and potential issues it is clear that it plays an important role in developing self-expression and engagement as well as promoting online advocacy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Digital Advocacy Campaigns: A Data-Driven Approach. (n.d.). Www.quorum.us. Retrieved April 21, 2024, from https://www.quorum.us/blog/digital-advocacy-101/#:~:text=Digital%20advocacy%20is%20the%20use

Jackson, K. (2021, December 30). TikTok dominated 2021 as the year’s hottest app. CNET. https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/tiktok-2021-no-1-mobile-app-ranking-apptopia/

Janfaza, R. (2020, June 4). TikTok serves as hub for #blacklivesmatter activism. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/04/politics/tik-tok-black-lives-matter/index.html

Oluoch, T. (2023, February 13). Trend: TikTok Activism. Paramount Insights. https://insights.paramount.com/post/trend-tiktok-activism/

What Happened To Musical.ly? A Story Of Its Merger With TikTok. (n.d.). Www.failory.com. https://www.failory.com/cemetery/musical-ly

Willingham, L. (2024, March 18). TikTok creators—especially those from marginalized groups—say a ban would hurt them financially and socially. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/91062592/tiktok-ban-creators-marginalized-groups-people-of-color

Zuo, H., & Wang, T. (2019). Analysis of Tik Tok User Behavior from the Perspective of Popular Culture. Frontiers in Art Research, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.25236/FAR.20190301