Renowned for its short-form videos that encompass pranks, fantastical forms, stunts, viral dancing, and subversive entertainment, TikTok has fast become the internet’s most popular platform for showcasing the behaviours and foibles of the quirkiest, most outlandish, and, occasionally, darkest subcultural formations.

Ranging from the neo-Gothic tribes of “WitchTok” claiming 33+ billion views, “Dark” vs “Light Academia”’s classism debates, “thirst traps” in sexually explicit content curated by E-Girls and E-Boys, parenting hacks from the “MomsofTikTok”, to the urban sass of self-proclaimed “Baddies” – TikTok has become a hotbed for polemic debate, hedonic playwork, materialistic escapism, and aesthetical practices.

As a result, brands continually strive to capitalize on these modern tribes as a sure-fire way to reach the app’s surging Millennial and Gen Z consumer segments.

The roundtable discussion was facilitated by Doctoral Researcher Sophie James and included discussants from the CCI including Prof James Cronin, Dr Mike Ryder and Dr Killian O'Leary