Can TikTok Promote a Healthier Ageing Paradigm? A Case Study of Older Digital Celebrities from China
Topics: Digital Geographies
, Medical and Health Geography
, Social Geography
Keywords: Older digital celebrity, Content recommendation algorithm, TikTok, Ageing
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 67
Authors:
Yi Yu, Sun Yat-Sen University
Bo Zhao, University of Washington
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Abstract
TikTok, as an emerging digital geography, has transformed remote communication to a live, instant, and uncannily realistic interaction. To explore the implications of TikTok on older adults, this paper examines
the accounts of older Chinese TikTok celebrities-their participation in TikTok as well as the major discourses of ageing mediated by TikTok. An empirical study was conducted by quantitatively analyzing web-scraped comments on older TikTok celebrities, and by interpreting the themes present by these popular TikTok accounts. The empirical results unveil that TikTok facilitates the social interactions of older digital celebrities by creating a caring environment. However, the healthy ageing paradigm
promoted by the Chinese government is also promoted by TikTok’s recommendation algorithm and platform capitalism. The healthy ageing paradigm prioritizes older adults who are healthy and independent, and as a result marginalizes those who have a disease or disability or are dependent on others in some way. As a result, the healthy ageing paradigm promoted by TikTok constitutes another form of ageism. Responding to the call to go beyond “the digital,” our research contributes to digital geography by examining the geographies of ageing mediated by TikTok.
Can TikTok Promote a Healthier Ageing Paradigm? A Case Study of Older Digital Celebrities from China
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Virtual Paper Abstract
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