Ethan Kurzrock

In 2019, I began researching TikTok, a video creation platform popular with young adults. I connected with and interviewed top social media creators on the platform and analyzed their content. My research highlights the role of play and dynamic editing on the TikTok platform. This analysis leverages sociologist Roger Caillois' classic study of play and games and media scholar David Bordwell’s theory of an “intensification of established [cinematic] techniques” to understand short-form video creation on social media. The aesthetic and culture of TikTok videos are intensified by a playground of editing and social media features. The research article is structured by the distinguishing features of TikTok and their parallels in playground design: the slide, the sandbox, the seesaw, and the swing.