{"id":127325,"date":"2022-03-29T14:16:57","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T18:16:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=127325"},"modified":"2025-06-20T15:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T19:43:10","slug":"research-in-60-seconds-how-does-tiktok-impact-our-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/research-in-60-seconds-how-does-tiktok-impact-our-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Research in 60 Seconds Video: How Does TikTok Impact Our World"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s solving the world\u2019s biggest problems or investigating the potential of novel discoveries, researchers at UCF are on the edge of scientific breakthroughs that aim to make an impact. Through the Research in 60 Seconds series, student and faculty researchers condense their complex studies into bite-sized summaries so you can know how and why Knights plan to improve our world.<\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong> Lindsey Wright
\nMajor:\u00a0<\/strong>Writing and rhetoric\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Why are you interested in this research?
\n<\/strong>I spend a lot of time on TikTok (probably too much time), so even when I\u2019m not on the app I\u2019ll see connections to it in my daily life. Sometimes a song will come on the radio or in a store I\u2019m in and I won\u2019t know what it is, but I\u2019ll know it\u2019s popular on TikTok. Or I\u2019ll be talking with a friend and quote a TikTok audio that I think applies to our conversation. TikTok is a big part of today\u2019s culture<\/a>, both for me and for other people my age and younger. For this reason, I believe it\u2019s important that we understand how the app is affecting our culture and our identities.<\/p>\n

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your research at bit.ly\/ucf-research-60-form.<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How did you get started in research at UCF?
\n<\/strong>I got started in research through classes for my writing and rhetoric major. In my Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing<\/em> class in Fall 2019, I completed a research paper that was accepted for publication in Convergence Rhetoric<\/em>, a peer-reviewed journal for undergraduate research here at UCF. From this experience, I began to see how the research I was doing in my classes could grow into other publication experiences and lead to me becoming a scholar in the field. In Fall 2020, I took a Writing for Digital Environments<\/em> class, where I completed a project on how sharing TikToks among friends re-affirms relationships. I was accepted to present this project at the 2021 UCF Knights Write Showcase. Dr. Joel Schneier, who had taught the class in which I had completed the project, attended that presentation, and afterward he reached out to me and asked if I wanted to continue working on it and grow it into a larger project. I said absolutely, and in Summer 2021 I began working on my honors undergraduate thesis with Dr. Schneier as my thesis chair.<\/p>\n

Who is your mentor? Who inspires you and how?
\n<\/strong>Dr. Schneier has been an incredible mentor in helping me complete my honors undergraduate thesis. I am grateful for his continued support, as well as the feedback from my thesis committee members, as I work to condense my thesis into a manuscript to submit for publication. Additionally, he has been extremely helpful in assisting me with working through the process of applying to grad school. Dr. Stephanie K. Wheeler, one of my committee members, has also been helping me with the grad school process. It’s been inspiring to work with a successful girlboss in the field of academia that I hope to be a professor in myself one day.<\/p>\n

How does UCF empower you to do your research?
\n<\/strong>Being able to work with supportive and encouraging faculty has been crucial in empowering me to conduct my research. Additionally, the opportunities UCF provides, especially the publication opportunities made available by the Department of Writing and Rhetoric, have allowed me to dream big and consider all the different directions my research can go.<\/p>\n

Why is this research important?
\n<\/strong>There isn’t a ton of research out there yet on TikTok, and I think it’s valuable to look at this specific app because so many people are using it, especially young people. It’s important for us to understand how we interact in digital spaces such as TikTok and why we do the things we do so we can better understand ourselves and how our world is shaped.<\/p>\n

Are you a faculty member or student conducting research at UCF? We want to hear from you! Tell us about your research at bit.ly\/ucf-research-60-form.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

How to Get Involved with Research at UCF<\/h2>\n