Research Perspectives on TikTok & Its Legacy Apps| Research Perspectives on TikTok and Its Legacy Apps—Introduction

Abstract

 

TikTok, a short-video app featuring video content between 15 and 60 seconds long, has in the last few years become immensely popular around the world. Because of its Chinese ownership and popularity among underage users, however, the platform has attracted criticism and been subject to close scrutiny. Despite these hurdles, TikTok has emerged as a hub for creativity and is being used by educators and governments to reach out to the younger demographic. This Special Section is among the first collections of articles in the growing field of studies on TikTok and its legacy apps. It provides a glimpse of the nascent framings, approaches, methodologies, and applications of TikTok studies in the field of social media scholarship.