I’m a Millennial Who Has Learned From Gen Z on TikTok, and You Can Too
By: Noha Mohamed
Tags: US Politics, Tik Tok, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Indigenous, Canada

Image by Andrew Kondrakov — Unsplash.com

If you’re a Millennial or a Baby Boomer, keep scrolling. In TikTok lingo, this means skedaddle. In this context, I mean to keep on reading, you might learn something new from content generated by Generation Z (Gen Z) on TikTok.

Gen Z includes those who were born after 1996.

As a Millennial myself, there are many things I learned and was exposed to, thanks to Gen Zs on TikTok.

TikTokers have had actionable political movements that had a tangible impact on politics, especially in the United States.

For example, I learned from TikTok that U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (regarded by the youngsters as AOC) and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar live-streamed themselves playing the extremely popular game, Among Us.

The success of this seemingly entertainment-based political move was more than anyone expected. The live stream had a live audience of 439,000 viewers and amassed a total of 5.6 million views on Twitch.

For context, campaign streams by former U.S. President Donald Trump and President-Elect Joe Biden on the same platform peaked at around 6,000 and 17,000 total views, respectively.

Canadian federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh followed suit and joined another Among Us game with AOC. As a result, more than 200,000 U.S. dollars were raised for food and housing insecurity in the United States.

No matter what your personal political inclination is, Gen Z’s effort on platforms like TikTok has an objectively solid, tangible impact that could possibly have a positive effect on many families.

What’s more important than that is their awareness to be involved and to voice their ideas and arguments publicly where there can be a constructive discussion.

Another example of TikTokers’ political activity manifesting itself took place during a Donald Trump pre-election campaign event. TikTokers made a plan to purchase tickets to an event held in Tulsa, Okla. that they intended not to attend as a way to stifle Trumps’ campaign and drive attendance down at the event.

It’s close to impossible to prove whether the movement on TikTok was the reason behind the low attendance at the event, but anecdotally, it seems to be correlated based on people’s social media claims.

Again, whether you perceive this to be positive or negative, this is a real, tangible impact.

With this political involvement, one should wonder what the effect will be on our politics and our neighbouring country in the near future. Current Gen Zs account for one in every 10 voters in the United States and if you don’t think this has an impact on the country’s political scene, just wait a couple of years.

Another of TikTok’s lessons that I learned were related to Indigenous peoples and specifically throat singing traditions. Montreal-based Inuk throat singer, Shina Novaling (@shinanova), is particularly exceptional at showcasing cultural pride in her mesmerizing throat singing duos with her mother.

Also, did you know that the Indigenous flute is one of the oldest instruments in the world next to drums and rattles and that it is used for healing, meditation, storytelling and courtship?

This is something I learned from James Jones’s TikTok account (@notoriouscree). James Jones is a Cree (nêhiyaw) from Tallcree First Nation in Northern Alberta.

From 17-year-old Theland Kicknosway (@the_land), I learned that when an Indigenous person braids their hair, they give thanks to their mind, body and spirit, which is also what the braid’s three strands represent. I also learned that when a loved one dies, it’s customary to cut a piece of your hair in honour of the time spent with them.

With the visual capabilities, audio and text, TikTok has become a powerful tool for self-expression and also for shaping young people’s culture.

With each video restricted to a maximum of 60 seconds, Gen Zs are exposed to at least 60 videos every hour they spend on the platform. Meaning that the sheer amount of information they absorb and learn in an hour is countless.

Many of the videos on TikTok discuss topics like mental health, politics, LGBTQ issues and rights, women’s health, astronomy, chemistry, different cultures and sometimes they contain just plainly weird humour.

My advice to you, get on TikTok and learn from Gen Zs.

And if you don’t like what you’re seeing, keep scrolling.