TikTok between generations...a platform for shared awareness or a gap in knowledge?

Tik Tok - and other applications and digital platforms - has become an influential actor in the paths of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with its ability to shape awareness, guide behavior, and shape public opinion. It has become possible to quickly spread awareness messages among users, and stimulate community participation in issues such as sustainable food, and other issues and pivotal roles.

Based on this growing role played by the Tik Tok application, it becomes necessary to shed light on the extent of its influence on people’s awareness, and measure its transformations, which have become an essential gateway to understanding the complex relationship between the digital economy and the requirements of sustainable development. So keep reading.

Trend Industry

Since its appearance less than a decade ago, TikTok has turned into one of the most influential and widespread social media platforms in the world, combining fast entertainment, creating trends (Trends - user search trends), and the power of smart algorithms.

Although it initially came as an application for short video clips, it quickly became a digital space where culture, politics, economics, and social identity intersect. This is what made it the focus of attention of governments, companies, and societies alike.

The first idea for the application was launched in China in 2016 under the name “Douyin”, before the international version was later launched under the name “Tik Tok”, when the Chinese saw that being limited to the Chinese market did not guarantee sustainability in a competitive digital world, which prompted them to turn towards global markets.

However, the major turning point came with its integration into the “Musical” platform in August 2018, which gave the application a huge boost in the United States and Europe, and opened the doors to a young audience that was already accustomed to short video content.

Between TikTok and Doyin

Despite the undeniable similarity in design and user experience between Tik Tok and Douyin, the separation between them goes beyond the issue of the difference in name; Because each of them operates on independent servers subject to different regulatory policies, this makes the content not exchanged between the two versions.

The Douyin version in China is distinguished by its integration with daily life services, such as e-commerce, hotel reservations, and geographical assessments, in addition to advanced technical tools such as search via facial recognition. In contrast, TikTok focused on the global content and entertainment industry, with the gradual introduction of advertising and marketing tools.

The secret of the artificial intelligence algorithm

Tik Tok’s success depends primarily on an intelligent algorithm capable of accurately analyzing user behavior, through viewing duration, interaction type, and searches, which allows for the provision of highly personalized content. This mechanism made reaching a wide audience possible even for new accounts, and this mechanism also contributed to the emergence of successive waves of global trends in short periods of time with a strong impact on current generations.

Making stars and brands

The application also contributed to providing a new type of digital fame, as ordinary users were able to transform into global influencers in a few months. The application also had a clear impact on the music industry in particular. Short clips have become unconventional promotional tools for songs and artists.

With the significant expansion of the user base, companies and brands have strongly entered TikTok, taking advantage of the spontaneous and interactive content style. Here, traditional advertising has faded, and has been replaced by influencer marketing, where content creators are seen as trust brokers between the brand and the audience.

Tik Tok and its developmental dimensions

In recent years, Tik Tok content has expanded to include trends and initiatives with cognitive, social, and economic dimensions, such as what has been raised currently that Tik Tok has turned into an influential factor in shaping daily food decisions among users, especially the youth group.

This is what was shown by a recent scientific survey conducted by a research team whose results were published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies (International Journal of Consumer Studies), in which participants indicated that they are now determining the type of food they eat based on the visual content they are exposed to while browsing the platform, whether through short recipes, restaurant reviews, or popular food challenges.

In this context, Artur Strzelecki, a researcher at the Katowice University of Economics in Poland, and one of the participants in analyzing the survey results, explained: Food trends spread through Tik Tok clips have become able to guide young people’s food tastes, influence their choices of restaurants, and even their evaluation of the quality of the recipes presented, far from traditional standards.

From the perspective ofThe Earth Guards Foundation, platforms like TikTok cannot be dealt with with a logic of absolute rejection or unconditional acceptance; That is, Earth Guards see in these platforms enormous energy that can be used to spread social and environmental awareness, promote a culture of sustainability, and enable young people to participate positively in the issues of their communities.

On the other hand, the organization warns against sliding towards superficial content or consumer trends that weaken the value system and turn the platform into a tool for reproducing digital irresponsibility. With a desire for the digital space to be a lever for sustainable development.