While a few creators used similar dances and images, for the most part the top videos weren’t copies of each other––they were very diverse in content and style. The image of @nyannyancosplay and some the gestures and camera motions were replicated in the videos I analyzed. I found it interesting how these videos which use those gestures and images have garnered more likes and views than @nyannyancosplay’s video (recently deleted from TikTok) which created most of them. It seems as if the meme spreads less like a chain and more like a wave.

I was surprised to find that some of the video’s subjects didn’t fit squarely with an identifiable social identity. The most common social identities that were associated with the videos’ connotations were students, gamers and performers.

Another interesting finding I had was that in @ottoman5’s video, there was a distinct reference to @nyannyancosplay, as they drew her image. This could then be connoted as a reference to TikTok itself, and then implying a TikTok social identity. It seems as though the meme is constructing a common culture amongst TikTok users that expands across identities.

I would say that the most important finding is that even though these short videos all used the same part of a song, what meanings were expressed in it varied from mythical femininity to anxiety, student life to elitism. Gender was the most common expression I found.  I was not sure how similar these videos would be to each other, but if one were to just double the amount of analyzed videos, the amount of meaning making would double as well.

Though the song lyrics might be demeaning, only a few of the videos had signs of similar aggression. For the most part, the general mood varied as the meme sort of became detached from the lyrics, and was about the song itself and the context of its use on TikTok. This would show that there are different emotional contagions at play here, as Guadagno explained.

What could be done better is to include in the domain all videos, not just ones with people in it, because ultimately a person is creating the video and the symbols within it. My domain was also fairly narrow and a further study should have a larger domain.

There is certainly much more to explore here, as TikTok is a young platform. As Berger explains, with each video there is a layer of meaning that is being encoded. This is occuring every second as users create and upload their own videos and watch and follow other users’. They are participating in the construction of different identities through these signs but importantly they are constructing a unique TikTok identity which is inclusive to all users.

It is interesting to see where the platform and its users are headed and what further explorations will be made.

Next: References