My digital artefact in collaboration with Sophie and Jess has evolved into a TikTok account named @urfavunigirls1. We made this decision as we found TikTok content is easier to film within our busy lifestyles. The account features videos we each film in our own time which follows current trends to keep our content relevant to our audience. In this blog post, I will be discussing why my group decided to change our DA and the challenges we faced along the course of developing this project. I will also be talking about Online tribes and memetic warfare, and how we can relate this to our project.
To start our DA, we had the initial idea of developing a YouTube channel where we talked about life and funny stories which would hopefully be entertaining to audiences at a similar age to us who could relate to the content. We named the channel “Shits n Giggles” as a reflection of how we wanted the channel to be perceived, not taken seriously and just to have a laugh. Once we established the channel, we organised a time to get together and film a video where we made cocktails and talked about pop culture and trends happening at the time. Our video received a very small amount of views leading us to the conclusion that our content was not popular and wasn’t reaching our targeted audience. I also believe that our lack of regular posting and activity on YouTube led to our small amount of views. This was as a result of time constraints which we all suffered from during the discourse of this session being full time uni students with part time jobs. Between the time it took to organise the time to film the video, to the time it was published was a few weeks and we decided that for the amount of effort we were putting into the content, it wasn’t worth the minimal attention it got on YouTube. From this, we learnt that YouTube probably isn’t the best option of a platform to post on that will get lots of attention unless you already have an established presence on social media.
This led us to our next DA idea which was to create content on TikTok instead as it is much quicker and easier to make videos. We also discovered that it is easier to gain likes and views on TikTok as it is a more popular app than YouTube and more people of our age range use it. Our new DA is a TikTok account called @urfavunigirls1 which we post fashion, trends and all things gen z. Jess runs the account and we have been sending her our content to post on the account. So far the account is going well, with videos receiving over 700 views. I saw this as a sigh of relief almost, as it gave me clarity of mind that we were on the right track and that our content was reaching our intended audience. I am hoping that with the help of the algorithm our content will reach even more people so our DA can be more developed for the next session.
We will continue to post on this account and hopefully gain more likes and views to continue this DA next year. I personally feel like it will be easier to keep track of our DA development if we have a constant flow of views and likes as it will encourage us to keep making content.
Algorithms heavily influence the media we consume, with TikTok’s “For You” page delivering content specifically curated based on the videos we engage with most. This creates a personalised feed, but also forms a content bubble, where we primarily see media that reinforces our existing views. Over time, this can shape our perception of the world around us. Given the powerful impact of media, it’s important to be mindful of what we share online. As more people consume similar content and adopt shared viewpoints, mono-cultures can emerge. The media we engage with influences not only how we see others but also how we perceive ourselves.
Our goal is to create a safe space on TikTok where we can express ourselves and connect with others who share similar perspectives, knowing the algorithm will help bring our content to them. We hope our positive TikTok page will foster a supportive community of girls who uplift one another, counteracting the harsh realities of online judgement. As scholars Ostic and Naslund highlight, “It is already shown that a TikTok personal experience is shaped by the individuals’ motivations and behaviours which, in the perspective of values-aligned and personalised content bought by the algorithm, can enhance positive experiences and promote psychological well being”. We aim to leverage TikTok to create a positive and empowering space for our digital artefact.
To conclude, we faced challenges as a group during the discourse of this session, changing our mind multiple times about the type of content we wished to create. However, I believe it was necessary for us to endure this as it led to us understanding the media on a deeper level and knowing what content works for us.
References:
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2857421087?accountid=15112&parentSessionId=VOHFkPx52a4EbQjnlcLuhaYK8ReqE7HXUfkvr2tihEI%3D&pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals
https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/doi/full/10.1080/10447318.2023.2233138
SofiaUnplugged 
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