Internet Folklore

“TikTok Dances”

DF

Quechee, Vermont, United States of America

November 2020

Informant data: DF was born on March 23, 1999, in Redondo Beach, California, where he was raised. He is 21 years old and a senior at Dartmouth College majoring in Cognitive Science and minoring in Human Centered Design. He currently resides in Quechee, Vermont.

Contextual data: DF is an avid TikTok user and occasionally videos; he currently has 22 videos and 2,160 likes on the app. He is familiar with many TikTok dancers, including Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Dixie D’Amelio. DF knows the entire “Renegade” dance and learned it with a friend by watching TikTok videos and a tutorial. He is familiar with the dance and music for “Laxed Siren Beat,” but did not know the name of the song. DF knows how to do pieces of this song’s choreography, particularly the beginning of the dance. He also knows the choreography for parts of the “Say So” dance. For both “Laxed Siren Beat” and “Say So,” he learned these dance moves by watching videos on his “For You Page.” 

DF has learned multiple things from TikTok, including these dances, interesting websites, and iPhone photography tips. He believes that TikTok is pervasive in society today and is similar to a previous short-video sharing platform called “Vine.” TikTok is a conversation among his friends and they frequently make references to the app in humorous ways. 

CM

Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America

Dartmouth College

RUSS 13 Fall 2020