TikTok Memory Maze: An Autoethnographic Exploration
Autoethnography is a form of critical and creative writing that explores the interrelation between the personal and the social worlds. One way to explore this interrelation is by critiquing discourse with the perspective and tools of critical discourse analysis (CDA), because discourse is a bridge between the personal and cultural/social worlds. In this assignment, students will use what they have learned about CDA so far in the course in order to write a short autoethnographic account of a particular personal and social experience.
The autoethnography should be approximately 750 words in length, written in Times New Roman, 12-point font. The document should include the student’s name, course numbers, and tutorial number. The autoethnography must include the following:
● A description of a personal experience that was shaped by social discourse.
● A critical analysis of the discourse itself, with discussion of how language mediated the
personal experience in relation to social institutions.
● A critical analysis of power relations that discourse maintained and/or subverted in
relation to the personal experience.
● A critical reflection on the intersectionality of subjectivity in the context of the personal
experience, and how discourse mediates subjectivity.
● A reflection on what the autoethnographic critique of this personal experience might
teach us about the ways discourse shapes individual subjectivity in relation to social
institutions.
These bullet points are not intended to convey the structure of the autoethnography, but rather to list elements that should be included, even if they are in a different order in the submitted assignment. Also, consider the seven principles for writing autoethnography, as outlined in the course reading by Boylorn and Orbe:
1. An emphasis on personal experience.
2. Familiarity with existing research.
3. Using personal experience to describe a critique cultural [and social] experience.
4. Taking advantage of and valuing insider knowledge.
5. Breaking silence, reclaiming voice.
6. Healing and maneuvering through pain, confusion, anger, and uncertainty.
7. Writing accessible prose.
TikTok Memory Maze: An Autoethnographic Exploration
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Professor's Name
Date
TikTok Memory Maze: An Autoethnographic Exploration
The technological space is advancing rapidly, and many innovators try to bridge social gaps through social media apps. TikTok is an example of these social media apps. It is a short video platform that has gained tremendous attention and usage in the past few years. TikTok was declared the most downloaded social media app in the world in 2022, according to D'Souza, 2023). I am among the people who created accounts with the social media app and often watched several short videos of between 10 and 60 seconds. However, the continuous usage has raised concerns about its impact on my memory and attention span. This is an autoethnography of my TikTok experiences and how it has affected my memory and cognitive abilities.
I have used TikTok for almost two years now, and I find the platform addictive as it keeps its users engaged for as long as possible. TikTok's algorithm ensures that the next video is always captivating to keep the user glued to the app. This makes the platform addictive as one eagerly waits for the next video, thus affecting one's attention as one spends more time in the app than on any other platform. I barely concentrated on one activity without taking a break to watch a video or two on TikTok before continuing. The auto-scroll feature made me more addicted to TikTok because there was no need to scroll downwards. The app developers have introduced a seek feature that enables one to forward or rewind a given video, ensuring that users only concentrate on the parts they want to watch. These features and characteristics of TikTok affected my ability to concentrate on tasks that need sustained attention, like studying. I began forgetting important information, like appointments, deadlines and conversation details. The app's content delivery technique trained me to expect immediate gratification and successive information availability.
Research confirms that TikTok affects users' memory span. TikTok invests in short video content that affects users' attention span by letting them consume large amounts of bite-sized content (Aleksandra, 2022). Additionally, the brain digests visual data faster than text. Capitalizing on video means its users consume more videos than text, affecting their ability to understand text-based information. This affects memory span, especially when users consume text-based information.
Users addicted to TikTok develop a "TikTok brain", a phenomenon arising from continuous scrolling and consumption of short videos from TikTok decreases attention (Jargon, 2022). The app's algorithm suggests the next video based on the previous one, arguing that one would like more of the content they have already watched. This makes one spend more time watching the video, thus d...