Publications

These publications are authored or co-authored by members of the TikTok Cultures Research Network.

For a curated list of resources by authors outside the TCRN, please see our TikTok Bibliography.

This page was last updated May 2023.

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Special Issues | Reports | Books | Journal Articles |
Book Chapters | Editorials


Special Issues
the cover of publication: Social Media + Society

“TikTok & Social Movements” in Social Media + Society, Volume 9, Issue 1, 2023.

Edited by Jin Lee & Crystal Abidin.

This Special Issue draws from our forth event “TikTok and Social Movements”, held in September 2021. Archives of this symposium, including video recordings, can be found here.

the cover of publication: Media International Australia, Issue 186 February 2023

“Cultures of TikTok in the Asia Pacific” in Media International Australia, Volume 186, Issue 1, 2023.

Edited by Crystal Abidin, Jin Lee & D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye.

This Special Issue was based on our inaugural event “Cultures of TikTok in the Asia Pacific”, held in December 2020. Archives of this symposium, including video recordings, can be found here.

the cover of publication: IJoC (International Journal of Communication)

“Research Perspectives on TikTok & Its Legacy Apps” in International Journal of Communication, Volume 15, 2021.

Edited by Jing Zeng, Crystal Abidin & Mike S. Schäfer.

The Special Issue was inspired by a panel put together for the 2020 International Communication Association (ICA) conference titled “Short-Form Parallel Universes: Affordances, Activity,
and Culture of TikTok and Douyin.”

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Reports
The cover of the report: Social Justice Through Social Media Pop Cultures: Case Studies And Reading Resources On Influencers And TikTok. A TikTok Cultures Research Network Initiative. Curated and Authored by A/Prof Crystal Abidin And Dr Jin Lee

Social Justice through Social Media Pop Cultures,
Curated and Authored by Crystal Abidin & Jin Lee, 2022

This resource seeks to consider the various aspects, angles, and conceptual synonyms to better understand social justice pursuits on social media, and comprises two parts: (1) Conceptual glossary and (2) Readings & resources.

The cover of the report: TikTok Syllabus - Teaching socio-cultural issues on TikTok. Curated by A/Prof Crystal Abidin and Dr D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye. A TikTok Cultures Research Network initiative.

TikTok Syllabus: Teaching socio-cultural issues on TikTok,
Curated by Crystal Abidin & D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, 2021

This Syllabus provides a curation of the early landscape of TikTok Studies, providing educators and researchers with resources to teach and think about TikTok through various socio-cultural perspectives.

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Books
Book cover - SocietyNow: TikTok and Youth Cultures by Crystal Abidin

Abidin, C. (forthcoming, 2023). TikTok and Youth Cultures. Emerald Publishing.

Book cover - TikTok: Creativity and Culture in Short Video by D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Jing Zeng and Patrik Wikström

Kaye, D.B.V., Zeng, J., & Wikström, P. (2022). TikTok: Creativity and Culture in Short Video. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Book cover -  TikTok Cultures in the United States. Edited by Trevor Boffone

Boffone, T. (Ed). (2022). TikTok Cultures in the United States. Oxford: Routledge.

Book cover - Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok

Boffone, T. (2021). Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Journal Articles

Featured Journal Articles are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.

the cover of periodical Social Media + Society

Lee, J. J., & Lee, J. (2023). #StopAsianHate on TikTok: Asian/American Women’s Space Making for Spearheading Counter-Narratives and Forming an Ad Hoc Asian Community. Social Media + Society9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157598

The cover of periodical Media International Australia

Sarwatay, D., Lee, J., & Kaye, D. B. V. (2023). Exploring children’s TikTok cultures in India: Negotiating access, uses, and experiences under restrictive parental mediation. Media International Australia,186(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X221127 

The cover of periodical Social Media + Society

Zhao, X., & Abidin, C. (2023). The “Fox Eye” Challenge Trend: Anti-Racism Work, Platform Affordances, and the Vernacular of Gesticular Activism on TikTok. Social Media + Society,9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157590 

2023

  • Abidin, C., Lee, J., & Kaye, D. B. V. (2023). Introduction to the Media International Australia special issue on “TikTok cultures in the Asia Pacific.”. Media International Australia186(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X221130126
  • Aggarwal, N., Kaye, D. B. V., & Odinet, C. K. (2023). #Fintok and Financial Regulation. Arizona State Law Journal, 55(1), 1–37. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4216952
  • Bermúdez, J. (2023 – In press). It’s All About ‘Being There’: Rethinking Presence and Co-presence in the Ethnographic Field During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of World Popular Music.
  • Cervi, L., & Divon, T. (2023). Playful Activism: Memetic Performances of Palestinian Resistance in TikTok #Challenges. Social Media + Society9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157607 
  • Duguay, S. (2023). TikTok’s Queer Potential: Identity, Methods, Movements. Social Media + Society9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157594
  • Duguay, S., & Gold-Apel, H. (2023). Stumbling Blocks and Alternative Paths: Reconsidering the Walkthrough Method for Analyzing Apps. Social Media + Society,9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231158822
  • Ilbury, C. (2023). The Recontextualisation of Multicultural London English: Stylising the ‘Roadman’ [on TikTok]. Language in Society.
  • Kaye, D.B.V. (2023, forthcoming) #JazzTok: Creativity, Community, and Improvisation on TikTok. Jazz and Culture
  • Lee, J., & Abidin, C. (2023). Introduction to the Special Issue of “TikTok and Social Movements”. Social Media + Society9(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157452
  • Lee, J. J., & Lee, J. (2023). #StopAsianHate on TikTok: Asian/American Women’s Space Making for Spearheading Counter-Narratives and Forming an Ad Hoc Asian Community. Social Media + Society9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157598
  • Literat, I., Boxman-Shabtai, L., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2023). Protesting the Protest Paradigm: TikTok as a Space for Media Criticism. The International Journal of Press/Politics,28(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612221117481
  • Literat, I., & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2023). TikTok as a Key Platform for Youth Political Expression: Reflecting on the Opportunities and Stakes Involved. Social Media + Society,9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157595
  • Moir, A. (2023). The Use of TikTok for Political Campaigning in Canada: The Case of Jagmeet Singh. Social Media + Society9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157604
  • Newton, G., & Southerton, C. (2023). Situated Talk: A method for a reflexive encounter with #donorconceived on TikTok. Media International Australia186(1), 66-80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X211064646
  • Sarwatay, D., Lee, J., & Kaye, D. B. V. (2023). Exploring children’s TikTok cultures in India: Negotiating access, uses, and experiences under restrictive parental mediation. Media International Australia,186(1), 48-65. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X221127 
  • Stein, K. (2023 – In press). YOU BETTER WORK! Drag Queen Performativity and Visibility on #dragqueen TikTok. Queer Studies in Media & Popular Culture
  • Su, C., & Kaye, D.B.V.. (2023). Borderline practices on Douyin/TikTok: Content transfer and algorithmic manipulation. Media, Culture & Societyhttps://doi.org/10.1177/01634437231168308
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Jaramillo-Dent, D. (2023, In-press). Re(coding) TikTok: The memetic interactivity codebook for content analysis. Television & New Media. 
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Abidin, C. (2023). TeachTok: Teachers of TikTok, micro-celebrification, and fun learning communities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 123, 103978. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2022.103978
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., De-Casas-Moreno, P., & Tirocchi, S. (2023). Online prosumer convergence: Listening, creating and sharing music on YouTube and TikTok. Communication & Society, 36(1), 151-166. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.36.1.151-166
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Jaramillo-Dent, D. (2023, In-press) Retos para la enseñanza: Profesores en YouTube, Instagram y TikTok [Challenges for education: Teachers on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok]. Comunicación y Pedagogía.
  • Zeng, J. (2023). #LearnOnTikTok Serendipitously, #LearnOnTikTok Seriously [In-Press]. Journal of Cinema and Media Studies
  • Zhao, X., & Abidin, C. (2023). The “Fox Eye” Challenge Trend: Anti-Racism Work, Platform Affordances, and the Vernacular of Gesticular Activism on TikTok. Social Media + Society,9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157590 

2022

  • Bermúdez, J. (2022). Vitual Musical.ly(ties): Identities, Performances & Meanings in a Mobile Application. An Ethnomusicological Approach to TikTok’s Musicking [University of Vienna].
  • Boffone, T. (2022). TikTok is Theatre, Theatre is TikTok. Theatre History Studies, 41, 41-48. 
  • Boffone, T., & Rosvally, D. (2022). “Everyone is bi in illyria is bi you absolute cowards”: Shakespeare TikTok, Twelfth Night, and the Search for a Queer Utopia.” Shakespeare Bulletin. 40(4), 481-507.
  • Civila, S., & Jaramillo-Dent, D. (2022). #Mixedcouples on TikTok: Performative hybridization and identity in the face of discrimination. Social Media +Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221122464
  • Dezuanni, M., Reddan, B., Rutherford, L., & Schoonens, A. (2022). Selfies and shelfies on #bookstagram and #booktok – social media and the mediation of Australian teen reading. Learning, Media and Technology, 47(3). https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2022.2068575
  • He, G., Leurs, K., & Li, Y. (2022). Research motherhood in the age of short videos: Stay-at-home mothers in China performing labor on Douyin. Media and Communication, 10(3), 273-289. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i3.5510
  • He, G., & Zhang, Y. (2022). (Im)mobility and performance of emotions: Chinese international students’ difficult journeys to home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mobile Media & Communicationhttps://doi.org/10.1177/20501579221119585
  • Hurley, Z. (2022). Middle Eastern women influencers’ interdependent/independent subjectification on Tiktok: Feminist postdigital transnational inquiry. Information, Communication & Society0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2022.2044500
  • Jaramillo Dent, D. (2022). Algorithmic (in)visibility tactics among immigrant TikTokers. Médialíni Studies, 16(2), 215-235. https://bit.ly/3ZZEYDM
  • Jaramillo-Dent, D., Alencar, A., & Asadchy, Y. (2022). #Migrantes on TikTok: Exploring platformed belongings. International Journal of Communicationhttps://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/17435
  • Jaramillo-Dent, D., Contreras-Pulido, P., & Pérez-Rodríguez, A. (2022). Immigrant Influencers on TikTok: Diverse Microcelebrity Profiles and Algorithmic (In)Visibility. Media and Communication10(1), 208–221. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.4743
  • Kaye, D. B. V. (2022). Please Duet This: Collaborative Music Making in Lockdown on TikTok. Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network15(1), Article 1. https://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/654
  • Matamoros-Fernández, A., Rodriguez, A., & Wikström, P. (2022). Humor That Harms? Examining Racist Audio-Visual Memetic Media on TikTok During Covid-19. Media and Communication10(2), 180–191. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i2.5154
  • Stein, K., Yao, Y., & Aitamurto, T. (2022). Examining Communicative Forms in #TikTokDocs’ Sexual Health Videos. International Journal of Communications,16, 1309-1331. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/18175/3702
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Abidin, C. (2022). Music Challenge Memes on TikTok: Understanding In-Group Storytelling Videos. International Journal of Communication16(0), 26.
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Aguaded, I. (2022). #ThisIsMeChallenge and Music for Empowerment of Marginalized Groups on TikTok. Media and Communication10(1), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v10i1.4715
  • Zeng, J., & Kaye, D. B. V. (2022). From content moderation to visibility moderation: A case study of platform governance on TikTok. Policy & Internethttps://doi.org/10.1002/poi3.287

2021

  • Abidin, C. (2021). Mapping Internet Celebrity on TikTok: Exploring Attention Economies and Visibility Labours. Cultural Science Journal , 12(1): 77-103. DOI: 10.5334/csci.140 https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.5334/csci.140 
  • Boffone, T. (2021). From Heathers to Six: Stealth Musicals and the TikTok Broadway Archive. Studies in Musical Theatre,15(3), 175-189. 
  • Boffone, T. & Jerasa, S. (2021). BookTok 101: TikTok, Digital Literacies, and Out-of-School Reading Practices. Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy. 65(3), 219-226.
  • Boffone, T., & Jerasa, S. (2021). Toward a (Queer) Reading Community: BookTok, Teen Readers, and the Rise of TikTok Literacies. Talking Points, 33(1), 10–16.
  • Chen, X., Kaye, D.B.V., Zeng, J. (2021). #PositiveEnergy Douyin: Constructing ‘Playful Patriotism’ on a Chinese Short Video Application. Chinese Journal of Communication14(1): 97-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2020.1761848
  • Ha, L. & Yang, Y. (2021). Research about persuasive effects of social media influencers as online opinion leaders 1990-2020: A review. International Journal of Internet Marketing & Advertising
  • Kaye, D.B.V, Chen, X., & Zeng, J. (2021). Co-evolution of Chinese Mobile Short Video Apps: Parallel Platformization of Douyin and TikTok. Mobile Media and Communication9(2): 229-253. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2050157920952120
  • Kaye, D.B.V., Rodriguez, A., Langton, K, & Wikström, P. (2021). You made this? I made this: Practices of authorship and attribution on TikTok. International Journal of Communication, 15, 21. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14544
  • Savic, M. (2021). Research Perspectives on TikTok & Its Legacy Apps| From Musical.ly to TikTok: Social Construction of 2020’s Most Downloaded Short-Video App. International Journal Of Communication, 15, 22. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14543
  • Southerton, C. (2021) ‘Lip-syncing and saving lives: healthcare workers on TikTok’, International Journal of Communication, 15 (2021), 3248–3268
  • Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Tirocchi, S. (2021). TikTokers y objetivación sexual de género en retos musicales [TikTokers and sexual gender objectification in musical challenges]. Media Education, 12(1), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.36253/me-9674
  • Yang, Y. & Ha, L. (2021). Why People Use TikTok (Douyin) and How Their Purchase Decisions are Affected by Social Media Influencers in China: A Uses & Gratifications and Para-Social Relationship Perspective. Journal of Interactive Advertising. DOI.10180.15252019.2021.1995544.
  • Zeng, J., Schafer, M.S., & Allgaier, J. (2021). Reposting “till Albert Einstein is TikTok famous”: The memetic construction of Science on TikTok. International Journal of Communication. 15(2021).
  • Zeng, J. & Abidin, C. (2021). “#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers’: Studying the Memefication of Intergenerational Politics on TikTok.” Information, Communication and Society (Online first). DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007
  • Zeng, J., Abidin, C., and Schäfer, M.S. (2021). Research Perspectives on TikTok and Its Legacy Apps: Introduction. International Journal of Communication, 15(2021): 3161-3172. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14539

2020

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Book Chapters

Featured Book Chapters are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.

Book cover - Critical Meme Reader: Global Mutations of the Viral Image. Chloë Arkenbout, Jack Wilson & Daniel De Zeeuw (Eds.)

Abidin, C. & Kaye, D.B.V. (2021). “Audio memes, Earworms, and Templatability: The ‘aural turn’ of memes on TikTok.” In C. Arkenbout, J. Wilson & D. De Zeeuw (Eds.), Critical Meme Reader, Institute of Network Cultures.

Book cover - Channel Power. Edited by Detlef Diederichsen and Arno Raffeiner

Amaral, A.R. (2022). “TikTok Doomerism: An Algorithm and the Revival of Post-Punk through Transcultural Fandom.” In D. Diederichsen & A. Raffeiner, (Eds.), Channel Power. 1ed. Leipzig: Spector Books, v. 18, p. 5-15. German edition also available.

Book cover - TikTok Cultures in the United States, edited by Trevor Boffone

Divon T., Ebbrecht-Hartmann T. (2022). #JewishTikTok: The JewToks’ fight against antisemitism. In Boffone T. (Ed.), TikTok cultures in the United States (pp. 47–58). Routledge.

2023

  • Bermúdez, J. (2023 – In press). Performing Beyond the Platform – Experiencing Musicking On and Through YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. In H. Rogers, J. Freitas & J. F. Porfíro (Eds.), Remediating Sound: Repeatable Culture, YouTube and Music. Bloomsbury. 
  • Jaramillo-Dent, D., Alencar, A., & Asadchy, Y. (2023 – In press) Migrant agency and platformed belongings: The case of TikTok. In K. Leurs & S. Ponzanezi (Eds.) Doing Digital Migration Studies: Theories and practices and the everyday. Amsterdam University Press (Open Access book) 

2022

  • Amaral, A.R. (2022). “TikTok Doomerism: An Algorithm and the Revival of Post-Punk through Transcultural Fandom.” In D. Diederichsen & A. Raffeiner, (Eds.), Channel Power. 1ed. Leipzig: Spector Books, v. 18, p. 5-15. German edition also available.
  • Divon T. (2022). Playful publics on TikTok: The memetic Israeli-Palestinian war of #CHALLENGE. In C. Arkenbout & L. Scherz (Eds.), Critical meme reader: Memetic tacticality (pp. 88–105).
  • Divon T., Ebbrecht-Hartmann T. (2022). #JewishTikTok: The JewToks’ fight against antisemitism. In Boffone T. (Ed.), TikTok cultures in the United States (pp. 47–58). Routledge.
  • Wang, Y.T., Suthers, D.D. (2022). Understanding Affordances in Short-Form Videos: A Performative Perspective. In: Stephanidis, C., Antona, M., Ntoa, S. (eds) HCII 2022. Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol 1582. Springer, Cham.

2021

  • Abidin, C. & Kaye, D.B.V. (2021). “Audio memes, Earworms, and Templatability: The ‘aural turn’ of memes on TikTok.” In C. Arkenbout, J. Wilson & D. De Zeeuw (Eds.), Critical Meme Reader, Institute of Network Cultures.

2020

  • De-Casas-Moreno, P., Jaramillo-Dent, D., & Vizcaíno-Verdú, A. (2020). TikTok y el nuevo reto de influencia para las marcas [TikTok and the new influencer challenge for brands]. In J. Gil-Quintana & B. Castillo-Abdul (Eds.), Influenciar para construir las sombras de la realidad. YouTubers e influencers en la era postdigital [Building influence to form the shadows of reality. YouTubers and influencers in the post-digital age] (pp. 215-235). Sindéresis.

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Editorials

Featured Editorials are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.

A quote poster which says: "For teachers, TeachTok can also facilitate a sense of belonging, which is important in a profession where stress and burnout are common." - Crystal Abidin & Arantxa Vizcaino-Verdú

Crystal Abidin and Arantxa Vizcáino-Verdú in The Conversation. How ‘TeachTok’ is helping teachers connect with their students on TikTok” (30 March 2023)

A quote poster, which says: "Music challenge memes on TikTok foster community connections that flow across musical genres, languages, racial identities and generations." - Arantxa Vizcaino-Verdú & Crystal Abidin

Arantxa Vizcáino-Verdú and Crystal Abidin in The Conversation. “Put a finger down if you know this song: how TikTok music challenge memes build community” (6 April 2023)

2023

2022

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