Synopsis

TikTok: it's the social media app which has come to define our perception of Gen Z, and which has firmly embedded itself within the covid-era zeitgeist. A phenomenally popular platform, more than a billion users scroll through its endless feeds, and it's turned ordinary people into overnight internet stars. But there's another side to the world's most popular app: from racist 'feeds' that erase people of colour, to videos promoting eating disorders, there's problematic content beneath the platform's playful exterior. Meanwhile, are the many techniques TikTok is using, including facial recognition, a threat to data security? It may be time to look beyond the dance videos and recognise what's going on behind the fun façade.

TikTok: it's the social media app which has come to define our perception of Gen Z, and which has firmly embedded itself within the covid-era zeitgeist. A phenomenally popular platform, more than a billion users scroll through its endless feeds, and it's turned ordinary people into overnight internet stars. But there's another side to the world's most popular app: from racist 'feeds' that erase people of colour, to videos promoting eating disorders, there's problematic content beneath the platform's playful exterior. Meanwhile, are the many techniques TikTok is using, including facial recognition, a threat to data security? It may be time to look beyond the dance videos and recognise what's going on behind the fun façade.