4 1 Haoyu Huang WRIT-1133 06/25/2022 Research Proposal TikTok is a social

4

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Haoyu Huang

WRIT-1133

06/25/2022

Research Proposal

TikTok is a social media app that gained many users and attention in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. People have posted short clip videos with comedy, music, and lip-sinking messages through the platform. I chose the app because most of my friends and family are using the app, and I also understand how the platform works as an interactive and entertaining platform. I am looking forward to researching the TikTok app, its use, and the possible sustainability of the app as a site of entertainment or social interaction site (Roth et al. 3). Various apps have been developed and attract a limited number of users, and TikTok has experienced an immense increase in the number of users in a short period. The research question is, “what unique nature of interactions and relations does TikTok brings to friends and followers?” The question is critical because the accounts of individuals using the platform tend to have followers that enjoy the content through views, comments, and likes. The research sub-questions related to the topic proposal include why the users of the platform that follow an individual account as a friend continue following their content? What influences does the TikTok content have on the followers? What is the main content that is loved most on the TikTok platform? The research is important in increasing my understanding of TikTok, which I have used for over two years and have solid experiences with, but there is a sense of uniqueness in how people love the platform, especially sharing the comedy skits family sessions and music dances among many more.

I believe in researching the question and getting insights into the unique nature of interactions and relations that the users of the TikTok app develop for entertainment and interaction purposes. TikTok played a huge role during the Covid-19 period when people worked from home and tried to reduce the pressure and mental health issues they were experiencing. In doing so, they joined the TikTok platform, where they are allowed to record a short clip and post the lip-sinking opportunity that is not there in most social media apps (Montag et al. 2). The platform made it possible for an individual to use the audio from a song or comedy and any other content and develop its visual format (Zeng et al. 15). It became an interactive session where the artists interacted with their fans through the platform by using their songs for dances and lip sinking to appreciate their art. The research question promises to illustrate the uniqueness that the TikTok platform has brought to friend interactions and relations, especially for people living in different geographical regions. TikTok is a global brand that connects people from different regions showcasing their diverse cultures, and during the research, more expectations would be about how people perceive the social media app as compared to others when it comes to interaction with each other.

The target audience is mostly the young people (15-24) years, and the reason for this is that young people are among the leading content creators for the TikTok app and have more experience in explaining their perception of the increasing use of the platform for interaction purposes (Zeng et al. 15). The question will interest laymen and scholars because TikTok is a platform everyone uses despite their academic background. The usability is quite simple, and it plays more of a social and entertaining site that should be leveraged to increase social interaction around the globe by making it a village where people from different geographical regions, different religions, and cultures interact through their content for awareness, entertainment and interaction purposes (Montag et al. 2). I consider the educational scholars as to the group that I am interested in concerning the TikTok platform used in the academic field since the platform has an increasing use and can become a hub of science learning where the best scholars or students interact to gain knowledge and skills in science field or other fields. The other segments that are likely to develop an interest in the research questions are the artists and the content creators, especially comedians and actors, to get their views on how the platform promotes the craft and talent and the possibility of payment they receive for having the most viewers and subscription (Zeng et al. 15). The highlighted segments find the platform interesting to be part of, and learning about the underlying attractive nature of the app will be an interesting research journey.

Work Cited

Zeng, J. “Research perspectives on TikTok and its legacy apps: introduction”. International Journal of Communication. 15. (2021).

Montag, Christian et al. “On the Psychology of Tiktok Use: A First Glimpse From Empirical Findings”. Frontiers in Public Health, vol 9, 2021. Frontiers Media SA, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.641673. Accessed 26 June 2022.

Roth, R. et al. “A Study of Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Tiktok Challenge Participation In South India”. Human Factors in Healthcare, vol 1, 2021, p. 100005. Elsevier BV, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hfh.2022.100005. Accessed 26 June 2022.