Tiktok is a popular video and music app that is available to download on the App Store and Google Play. Many students at the Village School use the social media platform, as it is trending among teenagers. Tiktok curates a “For You” page for its users through an algorithm that creates a personalized feed of videos. 

“My ‘For You’ page typically shows videos related to my interests like Marvel Movies, video games, and music,” said sophomore Mekala Kumar, an avid TikTok user.“But it also shows videos related to my culture and Indian content creators.”

This is just one of the many different personalized “For You” pages Tik Tok users may have, which vary entirely based on the content they positively interact with. 

“My for you page typically shows an array of content,” said sophomore Amarachi Chukwumaeze. “The majority of the time, maybe even entirely, it is occupied by content from people of color, typically black people. Generally, it could be comedy, fashion, politics, advice, activism, cooking, music and TV shows.”

Many Tiktok users utilize the app to stay up to date in current events and politics. This is because the fifteen second to sixty second videos easily condense information down into digestible bits. Depending on what a user interacts with, politics may or may not show up on somebody’s feed. 

“No, I don’t get any politics on my for you page, ” said junior Juan Soler, “I could really care less about politics. I am too young.”

Other students report differently, with politics showing up on their “For You” page based on their personal and positive interactions with certain political opinions. 

“I like to stay updated and aware about what goes on regarding this country,” said Chukwumaeze. “Especially since now more than ever, politics have a direct effect on me and the type of person I am.”

For users that engage and interact with political content on their “For You” page, it could be easier to get stuck in a social media echo chamber. According to Oxford’s Learner Dictionary, an echo chamber is an environment in which somebody encounters only opinions and beliefs similar to their own, and does not have to consider alternatives. This can be shown in the few posts that users interact with that have dissimilar political views. 

“Occasionally I see fascist and other right wing propaganda that somehow makes its way to my ‘For You’ page,” said sophomore Kai Matson, “It isn’t too frequent.” 

However, many people who interact with and engage with political content on Tiktok are often aware of the dangers of an echo chamber, and how they can often lead to radicalization.

“I see right wing propaganda aimed at radicalizing people into their internet-ideology occasionally,” said Matson, “[Tiktok] has not promoted such things, however, it has allowed for such things to appear.” 

As long as students are aware of the dangers of an echo chamber, and make sure to always take differing opinions into consideration, Tiktok can become a valuable tool for young teenagers to gain political awareness and education. 

“Tiktok has really helped me stay informed, because it gives me information about cases and injustices that aren’t covered,” Chukwumaez expresses, “It has educated me and  brought my awareness to subjects I wouldn’t know about if I stopped at a school educational level of knowledge.”