During the past years, TikTok has created a vibrant space for fandom and creative fan practices. That is deeply related to the platform, which sparks content that is spontaneous, short, live and vibrant. Where YouTube and Twitch have gradually become known for their long form content of game streams, shows and video essays, TikTok has specialized in short format, which makes it excel in music, dance and comedy.
TikTok specializes in making video scrollable, easily digestible and fun. While there is undoubtedly editing and work put into these videos, they come across as more spontaneous than a typical YouTube video. While a TikTok vid is also edited and curated, it’s not done so to an extreme extent with carefully crafted promotional posts, thumbnails and features.
TikTok provides a platform for short content, and has amplified a wide range of fan activities:
- Dancing and choreography
- Musical covers and remix
- Comedy sketches
- Short game tutorials
Two years ago I wrote about cosplay trends on TikTok, which often featured small tutorials, make-up challenges and dancing. This has not fundamentally changed. TikTok is creative, it’s a culture full of music, song, dancing and improv. Combine that creativity with cosplay, and you see unique fan activities flourish. Here’s a few examples to share from fandom and participatory cultures that capture what makes TikTok unique!
Character Comedy
One genre that truly flourishes on TikTok is comedy, and I’m here for it. TikTok creators focus on short skits and monologues. When paired with fandom, this often leads to hilarious character improvisations, sometimes in cosplay.
One of my favorite fandom comedy creators is Chanswill0 (sometimes called TikTok McGonnagall) who makes fantastic Harry Potter skits. She often reenacts McGonnagall in hilarious situations, for instance giving sarcastic eulogies for Belllatrix, Dumbledore and other characters. I mean, just watch for yourself:
Comedy as our favorite characters is flourishing. Others specialize more in TikTok memes where content is remixed in unique ways. I do think that the comedy culture on TikTok is a way in which it stands out from other platforms.
Dance Memes
Last year fans eagerly imitated Wednesday’s iconic dance while playing Lady Gaga’s Bloody Mary. (“Dance, Dance, Dance, With My Hands”). TikTok excels in its dance culture. Due to its attention to liveness and shareability, these dances often get re-enacted and go viral. Music has always been a key component of the platform, even in its earlier iterations. (Remember how it used to be Musical.ly, anyone?)
In fandom and geek culture, TikTok dances can be deliberately combined with cosplay.
One of the genres that often goes viral on TikTok is K-pop dance. Think of the BlackPink Kill this Love dance challenge from 2019. In her book about K-pop dance culture, Chuyun Oh describes that a large part of the magic of dance challenges is their liveness. Imitation is as crucial as originality, she describes, within TikTok culture. Content has to be “imitable or sharable” (2023, p. 40). TikTok is a platform that thrives on copying and remix, much more so than YouTube, Twitch and Instagram. Oh describes this accurately as:
“Dance challenges continue the desire of copying and being copied through the mediated consumption and exploring of alternative identities through dance; the global youth imitate dance challenges while dreaming of being the next TikTok star”
In other words, TikTok builds up to a vibrant creator economy, with the potential of becoming a true influencer or celebrity.
Social Game Play
TikTok has also been a gamechanger in game culture. Think of the massive rise of TikTok clips that feature game play hacks from Tears of The Kingdom. Players show their feats of engineering using zoniac devices, share latest glitches and duplication exploits, comment on weapons or enemies. Are you interested in defeating a Lynell with a 800+ weapon? TikTok has you covered with the best tricks and ways to play the game. These guides can be followed easily.
Tears of the Kingdom is a game that truly fits social media and remix culture. It’s fantastic to share experiments, discoveries, dishes and outfits in bite-sized information. Even more than in the case of Elden Ring and other trending games of recent years, we see a vibrant participatory culture enfold. This does come at a price. Chris Plante from Polygon writes that these tips may also ruin the game experience for a player:
“Playing Tears of the Kingdom had turned into work. TikTok provided assignments and I followed them, zipping around the map like a bike courier rather than a free-wheeling explorer. My TikTok feed had become a to-do list”
Plante describe how TikTok culture can also suck the joy out of a game that is all about discovery, and turned it into a quest for efficiency. However, on its best moments, these social videos are truly inspiring. Just look at the one below, an example of a whole genre where ToTK players build music boxes. Where TikTok shines is in sharing this kind of creative fan expressions!
Uniqueness
To summarize, what makes TikTok unique are the following features. These also make the platform highly interesting for fandom and geek culture:
- The algorithm which offers highly personalized content along specific interests and promotes shareability
- The short format, which is ideal for short comedy improv, dances, and more
- The attention to liveness
- The active facilitation of copying and remix, which leads to interesting homages, covers, and dance challenges
Nicolle Lamerichs 