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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Book Chapters | Editorials
Special Issues
“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.
“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.
“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.”
Reports
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.
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.
Books

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

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

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

Boffone, T. (2021). Renegades: Digital Dance Cultures from Dubsmash to TikTok. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Journal Articles
Featured Journal Articles are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.

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 + Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157598

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

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 Australia, 186(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 + Society, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051231157607
- Duguay, S. (2023). TikTok’s Queer Potential: Identity, Methods, Movements. Social Media + Society, 9(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 + Society, 9(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 + Society, 9(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 + Society, 9(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 Australia, 186(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 & Society. https://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 & Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579221119585
- Hurley, Z. (2022). Middle Eastern women influencers’ interdependent/independent subjectification on Tiktok: Feminist postdigital transnational inquiry. Information, Communication & Society, 0(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 Communication. https://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 Communication, 10(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 Network, 15(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 Communication, 10(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 Communication, 16(0), 26.
- Vizcaíno-Verdú, A., & Aguaded, I. (2022). #ThisIsMeChallenge and Music for Empowerment of Marginalized Groups on TikTok. Media and Communication, 10(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 & Internet. https://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 Communication, 14(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 Communication, 9(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
- Kaye, D.B.V. (2020). Make this go viral: Building musical careers through accidental virality on TikTok. Flow Journal, 27 (1). https://www.flowjournal.org/2020/09/make-this-go-viral/
Book Chapters
Featured Book Chapters are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.

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.

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., 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.
Editorials
Featured Editorials are rotated periodically.
They can additionally be found in the list below.
Crystal Abidin and Arantxa Vizcáino-Verdú in The Conversation. “How ‘TeachTok’ is helping teachers connect with their students on TikTok” (30 March 2023)
Milovan Savic in The Conversation. “A TikTok ban isn’t a data security solution. It will be difficult to enforce – and could end up hurting users” (22 May 2023)
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
- Milovan Savic in The Conversation. “A TikTok ban isn’t a data security solution. It will be difficult to enforce – and could end up hurting users” (22 May 2023)
- Crystal Abidin and Arantxa Vizcáino-Verdú in The Conversation. “How ‘TeachTok’ is helping teachers connect with their students on TikTok” (30 March 2023)
- 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)
- Crystal Abidin and Arantxa Vizcáino-Verdú in The Conversation. “‘TeachTok’, una manera de conectar alumnos y docentes” (11 April 2023)
2022
- Daniela Jaramillo-Dent in The Conversation. “El fenómeno de los tiktokers inmigrantes: nuevas formas de influencia desde los márgenes” (29 July 2022)