One of TikTok’s golden features is its capacity to deliver bite-size stats in a majorly accessible mode. We pride our creative and research work in doing the same exploration of cultures to build narratives and understanding and really get to know the nuances of places and people.

Gen Z’s curiosity for how their particular ethnic or national cultures intersect is at an all-time high, and they’re taking to TikTok to broadcast their findings. As TikTok’s primary user demographic, they are also the most ethnically diverse generation in history, with nearly half of US Gen Z from minority groups as opposed to 29% of Gen X (Pew Research, 2020).

These TikTok videos are teaching cultural history and are spotlighting niche ethnic overlaps as they go. Just a couple of standout examples are a video by @manulight shedding light on Buddhism’s foundations in Hindu spiritual culture, and Japanese cartoons’ influence on family values in Arab households. It’s a recognition and celebration not only of individual cultures alone, but also in the way they ‘interrelate and affect each other’.

Gen Z Arabs ‘grew up on Captain Majid Al-Muahkek Conan’ whilst their parents had Grandizer and Adnan wa Lina – all cartoons in the distinct Japanese animation style. This was the result of limited local production capabilities that meant national channels sourced content elsewhere. The options? The West or Japan. And as the eastern moral codes better aligned with those of the region, the vote for anime was a no-brainer.

Thank you to TikTokers far and wide for helping us spotlight these rich cultural touch points at the intersection of borders.  

Read this for more on how TikTok is helping muslim content creators find audiences:

Forbes Link

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