For its users, TikTok has been more than just a short-video platform. Since its popularity has skyrocketed, the social app has become a platform used by over 200 million Indians to create awareness on social issues, including education, youth and women empowerment, wildlife conservation, climate change, mental health, and sanitation and hygiene, just to name a few.
The content on the app, which is educational and edgy, has also provided a platform to build India’s creative economy, while simultaneously raising the bar in being a platform that promotes social good.
During this time, TikTok partnered with NGOs and social enterprises such as Josh Talks and the MASH Project Foundation, not to mention the partnerships with organisations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Suicide Prevention India to build awareness around causes such as global warming and mental illness.
The platform also partnered with NGOs and educated them on fundraising mechanisms and how to drive connections with potential donors. NGOs were also taught how to efficiently use social platforms to disseminate information on critical issues, generate support and foster cooperation across the communities.
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It wasn’t just NGOs. Realising the importance of how law and order enforcement agencies also leverage the platform, the platform also teamed with the Kerala and Uttarakhand police to spread social awareness. The Kerala police, who joined the app in July this year will use the platform to keep a close watch on unlawful activities that people tend to share on various platforms. They also said they will share content that will be beneficial to society.
More recently, the Uttarakhand police also joined the video creation app to create and post videos to raise awareness among the youth on various social issues. The team will also reportedly reach out to content creators who are popular on this app to lend their effective voice to the socially relevant messages.
The Uttarakhand police said that being on the app which gives them an opportunity to connect with the citizens of the state at a personal level. They have been sharing awareness videos that focus on road safety, cybersecurity, and women’s safety.
Another campaign that garnered a lot of attention was #WaitASecToReflect to inspire users to think before they post content online. At the same time, TikTok also partnered with the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) to execute a digital literacy programme focused on the usage of user generated content platforms. For its first phase, DEF will conduct awareness workshops among consumers across key cities in 10 states of India. As part of this initiative, the app is also urging India’s internet users to take a pledge to wait a second and reflect before they post any content online on waitasec.in/. The pledge can be done in English, as well as all the regional languages in India.
