Yes it has once again been a little while!
Now that summer is basically over and some ~life~ changes will soon be settling down, I hope to return to a more regular newsletter schedule.
As always, updates are posted on Twitter, and I am reachable via email: angela.shier@gmail.com
Content Warning: Discussion about abortion & reproductive health rights.
Another Deranged Treat Tutorial
A few months ago, I covered a particularly strange type of video content for NS 23.
When I saw this reaction video, I knew I had to include it in the newsletter. If you haven’t noticed by now, a big part of the community experience on the platform is the experience of viewing content "together,” via reaction videos, duets, etc.
TikTokers vs. Texas
If you have been aware of US news & politics you will likely have heard about Texas Senate Bill 8, also known as the Abortion Ban, or “Heartbeat Bill”. You may have also heard about the TikTok reaction to it in crashing the abortion reporting website NPR , NY Times.
While this has already been covered by many news outlets, I thought it would be interesting to walk you through how I experienced it on my For You Page.
This was the first video I saw on my feed on September 1st about sending in fake tips to the abortion whistleblower website:
The user in the above video of course did not create the idea to spam the site, but was part of a larger action started by @0liviajulianna. I’ll show you how I eventually got to her videos via others creators.
Next I saw this video from @black_madness21:
The above video was an update for this one:
whiiiiich was a stitch/response to @victoriahammett who had tagged @0liviajulianna:
So now we are back to the start of the action against the pro-life website:
Of course after the news caught on, she provided this response:
and here are some additional updates:
Internet activism fueled by TikTok is an interesting and exciting thing to observe, track and participate in. It rose to relevance during the 2020 United States Presidential election, when people on TikTok (primarily young Millennials and Gen Z) would spam RSVP Trump rallies, crash merch websites, etc.
In addition to the fake abortion tips, I have seen countless videos promoting resources and instructions for accessing reproductive health care and contraceptive pills online through a variety of methods that would be legally “safe” under the new Texas law. There has also been content from people joining the Satanic Temple as a reaction against the Texas law. For context, the Satanic Temple went to the Supreme Court citing the religious freedom act to fight for reproductive rights, as bodily autonomy is a core tenet of their religion.
The Olive Snake
He’s looking for “the one.”
JENNIFER
GIVE HER THE JOB
Distracted by Ducks
I constantly feel like the grandma in this one.
A lost balloon and impeccable audio choice
I lost it when I saw this for the first time.
Pretzel Removal Ceremony
This one made me feel nostalgic for some of the antics that go on in classrooms that can make school fun.
Locked out of Gym
The next two videos were just endearing.
Commenters wanted to hear the horn…
TikTok Niches
Videos explaining the various content “pipelines” on TikTok are always entertaining, here is a recent one that I saw:
For some additional context, here is a similar video from around November 2020:
Missed Connection: These Dogs
I mean… C’MON!
Bizarre Content
These feel like Gen Z internet humor in a nutshell.
Detective Randonautica
Emily Louise (@weirdreadsemilylouise on TikTok) made another great video on her YouTube channel covering the Detective Randonautica TikTok account. An explanation & introduction of Randonautica was covered in NS 3.
Virgo
I have still been creating playlists for each sign season. This one is slightly delayed but just in time for the last little bit of Virgo Season.