From a Carpet Hanger to TikTok - on the Trail of New Childhood Spaces. Focus Research Report
Abstract
The article presents a report from the research conducted to reveal the specific aspects of children’s experiences related to functioning in the TikTok web application. The specific features and growing popularity of TikTok among children is as surprising for many adults as the phenomenon of carpet hangers (the symbol of pre-digital childhood in Poland) for the modern generation of children. The research was prepared within a qualitative strategy. Children aged 8–10 took part in focus group interviews. The thematic analysis showed that children have turned TikTok into a new informal e-playground. They participate in the TikTok community and create it. Children’s activity in this place fulfills the need to be with others, to create something together, but also the need for quick interaction, fun and entertainment. Children try to develop their interests and draw some inspirations to create their own “trends”. They do not live in a vacuum, but, as in offline life, they absorb what they watch and participate in. Functioning in the application is also a kind of resistance, as it is against the will of representatives of the adult world. However, discovering forbidden places or even undertaking risky social practices seems to be one of the distinctive features of childhood, regardless of the times in which it is fulfilled.
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