From Max Speilman
“The app’s ability to engage students in and out of the classroom has provided a unique opportunity to explore education beyond traditional methods.”
Contrary to popular belief, TikTok isn’t just all about dances, viral challenges, and trends. The popular social media app that has revolutionised how younger people consume video content since its release in 2016, has captured the hearts, and more importantly, the attention spans of all Gen Z’s.
Here, Max Spielmann explores evolution of education, and the new phenomena of
‘edu-tainement’ on the widely used social media app.
TikTok And User-Generated Content
The platform allows anyone from casual users to large following influencers to create and share 15 to 60 second videos, covering an extensive variety of content. Its personalised feed of quirky short videos set to trending music and sound effects, has tapped into younger people’s way of thinking, most notably for its high levels of engagement, and at times addictive qualities.
With Gen Z’s daily screen time averaging at around 10 hours a day, some parents may struggle to manage the time their children spend on TikTok. But what if all that time spent on the app could have a positive impact on its user rather than a bad one?
Micro-Learning: The Latest Trend
On TikTok, there’s something for everyone. You can explore a wealth of popular categories from photography to politics, where young people are able to follow individuals, organisations, and causes they believe in. According to TikTok statistics, “entertainment” is the most popular category on the platform worldwide, with the next most popular being dance, pranks, fitness/sports, and home renovations/DIY.
More recently however, the app has been responsible for a new trend; the phenomena of ‘micro-learning’ – or what TikTok likes to call creative learning – the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the format of small units. This has been shown to have a positive effect on students’ knowledge and confidence in performing procedures, knowledge retention, study habits, and engagement in collaborative learning in the younger generation.
TikTok’s Complex Topics
Surprisingly, in recent years there has been a surge in teens turning to TikTok for more complex topics that typically would be taught in the classroom. With an increase in higher education content appearing on the app including dentistry, programming, mental health, and radiology among many others, where users are consuming informative videos ranging from how-to’s, and equipment breakdowns, to patient aftercare, and scientific methods. In early 2023, the app announced that they would be adding a STEM feed focusing on covering subjects related to science, technology, engineering, and maths.
Another explored subject gaining traction (mainly in the US) is sex education. As it is only taught in schools in Washington and 20 out of 50 states, teens are resorting to TikTok to learn about everything from health, contraception and female anatomy. Bridging a gap, TikTok seems to be developing into a resource for education on sensitive issues, and successfully navigating the restrictions that may come with the teaching of certain subjects in regions where school curriculums are limited.
The Rise of Edu-tainement
The rise of edu-tainement is down to a number of factors; the main being the COVID-19 pandemic which accelerated the adaptation of academic videos on the app when it launched a new initiative – #learnontiktok – due to what the platform felt was a strong demand for educational content. When searching the hashtag now, you will enter a world of learning, brought together by hundreds of brands, publishers, and educational institutions.
Due to the success of TikTok learning, some teachers have incorporated the idea of edu-tainement into their classrooms, starting off lessons with short videos, or even co-creating videos in the classroom with the hope of capturing students’ attention on tricky subject matters. They have even been uploading their content to the app, allowing for their students to access resources through #teachersontiktok, to be used for homework and study sessions at a later time.
Learning Potential
Fundamentally, TikTok has discovered a niche in their platform which has promoted a healthy interest in learning for the younger generation. The app’s ability to engage students in and out of the classroom has provided a unique opportunity to explore education beyond traditional methods. It goes without saying that maintaining balance and moderation is important when it comes to usage of any social media app due to the volume of content available. Both parents and educators should emphasise the importance of critical thinking and fact-checking to encourage young users to use the platform responsibly and ensure they’re learning from reliable sources. With that said, by promoting education through entertainment, TikTok have harnessed the power of technology to create a positive impact on the education landscape, where the potential for learning on the app is undoubtedly limitless.
