Glossary of TikTok Vocabulary

CEO

The “CEO of” comment trend is starting to appear on TikTok. In real life, CEO means “Chief Executive Officer”. On TikTok, to be called CEO of something means that you are best at it.

OOMF

OOMF stands for “One of my friends” or “One of my followers”. According to Urban Dictionary, OOMF is often used negatively to talk about people behind their backs.

Cheugy

This term refers to people or objects that were a bit out of touch with current trends. It is the opposite of being trendy.

Go Little Rockstar

“Pope is a Rockstar” is a track by the American Indie band, SALES, that recently went viral on TikTok. The song has a line “Pope is a Rockstar” but people commonly misheard it as “Go little rockstar”.

“Go Little Rockstar” is one of the most wholesome trends on TikTok where people celebrate achievements of many kinds or even just memorialize lost loved ones.

Scroll, scroll, scroll. Tap! Tap! Tap! Choose a template, upload the video from my photo library. Choose a punchy tune and a few buzzwords and ……… post?

I must admit that when I embarked on my TikTok voyage, I appreciated that I was not going to be CEO. OOMF, London Coronica, was the first to like my very cheugy debut post. I took that little boost of confidence and community to explore a little further and dig a little deeper. I knew right after posting that this new platform was going to engender unease and have me question my previous conceptions of TikTok. I had reservations about signing up to another platform and one that I have read much about in the New York Times and CBC regarding privacy and security issues but my biggest reservation was how I see new social media technologies destabilizing democratic governments, and creating polarization that is ripping apart the fabrics of societies. Do I really want to support that? 

Working with my open-minded and freethinking team members London, Steph, and Angela, helped me see the impact of TikTok and social media on learning that is already happening all over the country and even with students who I currently teach. First, many of my students use TikTok for quick and fun microlearning events. They can access these nano events between shifts, working at Starbucks or when commuting home at 1:30 AM after a 8-hour dishwashing shift. Second, these bite-sized nuggets create community for my students who are new to Canada. It allows them to feel connected to the local communities around them. Whether or not these social media platforms can be sanctioned by formal learning institutions will need further research by academics and further evolution on the part of social media companies. Also, it would be worth investigating more about whether or not algorithms promote bias. There were very few true studies done regarding this topic and many of the “studies” that were reported in news, were more about personal experiences that could not be recreated and therefore impossible to test. We need to do better.

My greatest concern with this digital technology is that it is very addictive and that much of the content is presented in a seemingly linear flow that you cannot control or shape as you consume content. I feel that this is not something that can be promoted in its current form to children and young adults in schools. I feel that there are many informal opportunities for this technology but I feel that as creators of content who are actually the products, unfortunately we will have very little say in the future of how this technology develops. I do look forward to seeing it evolve a little further. I have committed to keeping the app for the next year and reevaluate upon my graduation if this is a piece of technology that is doing good. Go little Rockstar!