The TikTok Ethnography Collective began in September 2020. After several months scrolling TikTok during of lockdown and spending lots of time on TikTok to pass the time we had seen lots of interesting things unfold on TikTok.

We saw the incredible organising and documenting of the Black Lives Matter protests, communities forging as people connected to their identities, people connecting with their identities and finding communities online, and young people teaching each other about colonial histories, and a huge number of users actively thinking and talking about the algorithm.

As a group we began meeting to talk about TikTok, sharing our experiences and reflections on the algorithm on what was unfolding on the platform and discussing ideas about fun and interesting ways we could explore the app further. And so the collective was born!

We are an open collective and always welcome new members -- feel free to get in touch!

This project is both an ethnography of TikTok and a questioning of how we can blur the boundaries between teaching and research. How can we work collaboratively with a diverse range of people, within the academy and beyond, in a meaningful way? How can we re-think what it means to conduct research? This project explores the anthropological and pedagogical possibilities offered by working together to explore the world of TikTok.

We are committed to creating an anthropological project that is accessible, public facing and exciting. Collaboration is a central pillar of how we work. We believe that by working together, sharing our ideas and our knowledge is the best way to learn, research and explore the world and we are applying this to our work on TikTok.

Our collective is built upon frequent and open discussion. We meet regularly to share what we are doing, thinking about and just to catch up!

We write, draw and film together, and we also plan events. We run regular workshops that are open to anyone so keep an eye on our social media for upcoming workshops and events!