TikTok & Children

The TikTok Cultures Research Network held its seventh virtual event, ‘TikTok & Children’ on 8 May 2023. This one-day online Symposium was held in collaboration with the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child.

In response to the potentials and pitfalls in children’s use of TikTok, this Symposium discussed crucial issues to understanding children’s rights on TikTok and examined their wellbeing and safety on the platform. The Symposium showcased the emergent research on characteristics, climate, concerns, and chances of children growing up with and on TikTok, and discussed these issues with the industry and TikTok studies scholars.

This event featured a conversation with TikTok, and an academic round table with leading ECR scholars on TikTok, moderated by Prof Crystal Abidin.

Recordings of the TikTok & Children Symposium are available on this page in the section below.

Jump to:

Opening + Fireside Chat: Conversation with TikTok

Roundtable: Conversation with leading ECRs on TikTok research

Session 01: Children & Care on TikTok

Session 02: Children & Parenting on TikTok

Session 03: Children & Concerns on TikTok

Session 04: Children & Play on TikTok

Session 05: Children & Regulation on TikTok + Closing

The full programme is available here.

The recordings, speakers and presentation titles can be found below.

Presentation Abstracts and Presenter Bios are available here.

The official live-tweet thread can be found here.

A hi-res version of the event poster can be downloaded here.

A hi-res version of the schedule poster can be downloaded here.

Please contact the TikTok Cultures Research Network (tiktokcultures@gmail.com) with any questions about this event.

This event was brought to you by the TikTok Cultures Research Network and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, and supported by the Centre for Culture and Technology (CCAT) and the Faculty of Humanities at Curtin University.

Speakers & Recordings

FIRESIDE CHAT: Conversation with TikTok

Claire GARTLAND, Youth Safety & Wellbeing Global Product Policy Lead, Trust & Safety Global Product Policy Department

Kathryn GRANT, Outreach & Partnerships Manager, Research Partnerships Lead, TikTok Trust & Safety

Crystal ABIDIN, Curtin University; Founder, TikTok Cultures Research Network; Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Video 1 – TikTok & Children opening remarks + Fireside Chat: a conversation with TikTok

0 – 07:12 – Opening from Prof. Crystal Abidin; Welcome to Country from Emeritus Prof Simon Forrest.

07:12 – 55:48 – Fireside Chat: A Conversation with TikTok. Claire Gartland & Kathryn Grant, with moderation from Crystal Abidin.

ROUNDTABLE: Conversation with leading ECRs on TikTok Research

Aleesha RODRIGUEZ, Queensland University of Technology; Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child; Founding Member, TikTok Cultures Research Network

Alex TURVY, Tulane University; Global Member, TikTok Cultures Research Network; 2023 Intern at TikTok Cultures Research Network

Xinyu (Andy) ZHAO, Deakin University; Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child; Founding Member, TikTok Cultures Research Network

Video 2 – TikTok & Children ECR Roundtable

0:00 – 48:32 – Roundtable: leading ECRs on TikTok research. Aleesha Rodriguez, Alex Turvy and Xinyu (Andy) Zhao, with moderation from Crystal Abidin.

SESSION 01: Children & Care on TikTok

Young people and TikTok use in Australia: Digital geographies of care in popular culture

Jessica MCLEAN, Macquarie University

“I’m My Own Target Audience”: Platform Affordances and Neurodivergent Young People’s Cultural Production on #Autisktok

Jessica RAUCHBERG, McMaster University (Presenting Author)

Meryl ALPER, Northeastern University; Ellen SIMPSON, University of Colorado; Josh GUBERMAN, University of Michigan; Sarah FEINBERG, Tufts University

TikTok Discourses: Youth and the transition to high school

James SHANAHAN, Columbia University

Scarce Commodity: TikTok and Yorùbá Children Influencers

Ganiyat TIJANI-ADENLE, North-West University (Presenting Author)

Abiodun SALAWU, North-West University

Video 3 – TikTok & Children Session 1 – Children & Care on TikTok

01:27 – 12:00 – Jessica MCLEAN, Macquarie University
12:00 – 21:32 – Jessica RAUCHBERG, McMaster University
21:36 – 32:23 – James SHANAHAN, Columbia University
32:28 – 41:19 – Ganiyat TIJANI-ADENLE, North-West University
41:20 – 53:14 – Q&A, with moderation from Jin Lee.

SESSION 02: Children & Parenting on TikTok

Pedagogical practices on TikTok: the effort to promote kin-keeping practices among Arab women content creators from the Gulf States

Sara AL DERHAM, Newcastle University

#parentingtips: A descriptive study of information for parents on TikTok

Tess FLETCHER, Telethon Kids Institute

Mediated Parental Absence: Parasocial Relationships between Children and their “TikTok Parents”

Jacob SMITH, University of North Carolina (Presenting Author)

Emily MENDELSON, University of Illinois

The Influence of TikTok on the Development of Children’s Critical Thinking Skills: Parents’ Perceptions

Youssef YAKOUB, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Video 4 – TikTok & Children Session 2 – Children & Parenting on TikTok

01:35 – 13:11 – Sara AL DERHAM, Newcastle University
13:28 – 23:06 – Tess FLETCHER, Telethon Kids Institute
23:45 – 34:07 – Jacob SMITH, University of North Carolina
34:27 – 41:19 – Youssef YAKOUB, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
43:41 – 54:16 – Q&A, with moderation from Tama Leaver.

SESSION 03: Children & Concerns on TikTok

Skinamarink and the Algorithmic Uncanny Interface between Children’s TikTok and Horror Film Cultures

Jessica BALANZATEGUI, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Revisiting the Nymphet Aesthetic: TikTok’s Response to Tumblr’s Sexually Attractive Girl

Summer GAMBLE, St Mary’s University

True Crime & TikTok: A Source of Misinformation, Sensationalism & Graphic Content for Children

Megan LUPTON, De Montfort University

The representation of dieting behaviours on TikTok: a descriptive content analysis

Emily MUNRO, Telethon Kids Institute; University of Western Australia

Video 5 – TikTok & Children Session 3 – Children & Concerns on TikTok

00:55 – 12:32 – Jessica BALANZATEGUI, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
13:06 – 13:30 – Summer GAMBLE, St Mary’s University
13:30 – 33:11 – Megan LUPTON, De Montfort University
23:27 – 43:17 – Emily MUNRO, Telethon Kids Institute; University of Western Australia
43:27 – 45:17 – Q&A, with moderation from Jin Lee.

SESSION 04: Children & Play on TikTok

The signs of times: choreographing life on TikTok?

Teresa Sofia CASTRO, Universidade Lusófona

Is it worth the laugh? Understanding memeification of videos with children subjects on TikTok

Madelyn GARCIA, University of the Philippines

‘Um, cold take’: The memeification of youth experience on TikTok

Emilie OWENS, University of Oslo

Video 6 – TikTok & Children Session 4 – Children & Play on TikTok

01:05 – 14:09 – Teresa Sofia CASTRO, Universidade Lusófona
14:15 – 26:07 – Madelyn GARCIA, University of the Philippines
26:27 – 33:14 – Emilie OWENS, University of Oslo
33:19 – 57:06 – Q&A, with moderation from Tama Leaver.

Please note due to unforeseen circumstances Jialin WU withdrew from presenting at the TikTok & Children Symposium.

SESSION 05: Children & Regulation on TikTok

Children as Commodities: Ethnographic Observations and Legal Implications of Child Influencer Monetization on TikTok

Catalina GOANTA, Utrecht University (Presenting Author)

Tom DIVON, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

TikTok regulations in Vietnam: between the risks and the opportunities

Viet Tho LE, Van Lang University (Presenting Author)

Tuong-Minh LY-LE, Van Lang University

“Read the terms and conditions – if you are able to.” – The implications of TikTok usage in among children from a legal perspective focusing on children’s rights, policy making and regulation proposals.

Gergely LENDVAI, Pázmány Péter Catholic University

TikTok and the Privacy Rights of Babies and Toddlers

Octavia OLMOS-RODRIGUEZ, Aarhus University; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Video 7 – TikTok & Children Session 5 – Children & Regulation on TikTok + closing remarks

00:59 – 11:51 – Catalina GOANTA, Utrecht University
11:54 – 23:08 – Viet Tho LE, Van Lang University
23:13 – 33:39 – Gergely LENDVAI, Pázmány Péter Catholic University
34:04 – 44:33 – Octavia OLMOS-RODRIGUEZ, Aarhus University; Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
44:49 – 53:10 – Q&A, with moderation from Jin Lee
53:11 – 1:03:24 – Closing Remarks with Jin Lee and Crystal Abidin.

Moderators & Organisers

Crystal ABIDIN, Curtin University; Founder, TikTok Cultures Research Network; Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Jin LEE, Curtin University; Research Fellow, TikTok Cultures Research Network; Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child

Tama LEAVER, Curtin University; Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child