Is TikTok activism actually effective? Does it lead to more performative action or real action?

Question for Shira Ovide

Hello Shira Ovide! My name is Khadijah Hussain, a senior at Bard High School Early College Queens. I find myself drawn to social justice issues and outright making change. In my time at BHSEC, I’ve been apart of numerous youth-based activism programs. I constantly want to grow, learn, and teach about the issues around me, and like you, I believe a lot of that has to do with social media.

In your article TikTok (Yes, TikTok) Is the Future, you bring to light how the entertainer app, TikTok, definitely has its benefits when it comes to my generation. I agree that TikTok’s easy 60 second videos are a great way to introduce the issues at hand in a massive way. Those couple of seconds videos can meet thousands, even millions of people from all coast to coast, all over the world. Youth especially are given the opportunity to discuss and express how they feel raw and with no filter. For many youths of my generation, personal is political, a lot of our lives are directly affected by many issues, so it’s great that TikTok has almost become an outlet for that.

However, social media creates pressure to follow the trend, and while social justice is not a trend, many people fear being called out, so they post on their social media as a scapegoat not to get involved. I also know that because of social media like TikTok, activism on the platform leads to real changes. While I unmistakably believe to some extent it that is true, how much of that activism is preformative? Is TikTok activism actually effective?