BUYING, SELLING, BEING Scrolling through TikTok is not unlike dissolving into a loop of repeating soundbites and punchlines as the definition between each video blurs, and time folds into itself. I spend hours watching teens pantomime the same songs, dogs patter across the screen to the same childlike voice-overs, and artists reveal their creations with the same “before-and-after” template. Occasionally, a celebrity will appear out of place, unsure of the proper facial expressions or hand gestures to accompany their carefully-edited performance that misses the purpose of the platform entirely. While Facebook albums and Instagram posts broadcast a curated version of everyday life, TikTok celebrates self-made creators. The app is aware of its own slapstick gluttony, providing a suite of simple editing tools that allow for universal participation. Everyone on the app unapologetically clamors for attention, providing relief from the online minefield of feigned authenticity. I am swallowed by the same wormhole of capitalist self-creation when browsing the virtual marketplace of Depop, downloaded in pursuit of a pair of broken-in Oxfords to save myself from blisters and overspending. Like most Gen-Z-centered software, the quintessential Depop shopping experience occurs on a mobile interface instead of the desktop, as the app is designed to mimic the social media revered by this generation. The Instagram-inspired “explore” page features established shops that mimic magazine photoshoots alongside girls taking mirror selfies of “ugly” ski sweaters that have swung back into “fashion.” I’m greeted by a plethora of Dickies garments, novelty earrings, and multicolored clogs, all tagged as the CUTEST ever and #vintage. As I fill my virtual shopping bag with secondhand acquisitions, I become aware of how similar each article of clothing is despite the personal nature of the pick. The collection of granny sweaters, midi-skirts, and pastel mock-necks sitting in my cart could have been sold by one Urban Outfitters-type store. Each seller has their own “brand” for sale, and yet they are eerily similar, as the daily eclectic mix of clothing “featured” by Depop complements itself in a chaotic fashion. Peer-to-peer purchasing on Depop allows users to shop the closet of the cool kids at school, equating the act of buying with emulating and being. TikTok and Depop provide avenues for anyone to be a creator and content curator; the only requisite is a cell phone and sense of self. Unlike long-gone Vine or millennial-appealing Poshmark—the respective predecessors for both platforms—TikTok and Depop are designed specifically to fit the needs and online habits of Gen-Z, merging AI-driven in-app navigation with shameless self-promotion. Although these platforms were not designed by this generation, they are perfectly suited to meet youth culture in ways that other online marketplaces and social media apps cannot. Gen-Z Zoomers are typically characterized as entrepreneurial and tech-savvy, traits evident in the 15-year-old TikTok stars with brand deals and teenage Depop sellers that have designed custom shipping labels. At 18, I am on the cusp of the target demographic, as I am notably older than TikTok celebrities and middle school entrepreneurs. And yet, I still participate by watching and buying in awe. Viral TikTok dances and “vintage Depop style” have pervaded the media I consume, from Instagram meme accounts to New York street style, until—at least for me—immersion into these platforms has become inevitable. In some ways, Gen-Z creators and store-runners
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SCIENCE + TECH
BY Anabelle Johnston ILLUSTRATION Floria Tsui DESIGN Ella Rosenblatt
understand better than I do that personhood is entan- scrolling reveals an endless selection of related posts, gled with purchasing power, and to participate online as the apps generate individual collections of more things you might like. today is to be a consumer. Depop speaks to the Gen-Z rejection of fast fashion and linear projection of style, as Y2K crop +++ tops are layered with flared jeans reminiscent of the Both apps have been extremely popular among teen- 1970s, repurposing old pieces to create a cacophonous agers for years and recently have grown to be recog- image that diverges from runway trends. Other platnized as platforms to be reckoned with by investors, forms have mimicked Depop’s model with less success. college students, and baffled millennial culture writers. Instagram’s “checkout” feature and Pinterest’s shop90 percent of Depop’s 15 million active users are under ping options streamline the I see it, I like it, I want it, I the age of 26, and approximately 37 percent of the 1 buy it process, but still rely on heavily-stylized images billion TikTok users worldwide are under the age of 19. and branding. As tempting as it is to purchase the Both apps are concentrated around the same age demo- Pinterest board of my ideal life, it feels too complagraphic, attracting a variety of users due to their acces- cent—and expensive—for me to ever press Buy. Instead sibility, a value important to untrained youth looking of directing users to brands like For Love and Lemons to create content. Both TikTok and Depop grew out of to purchase a hat showcased in the picture just pinned, foreign platforms—China and Italy, respectively—and Depop places individuals, instead of corporations, on both have developed around the ‘globalized teenager’ either end of the selling spectrum. The creators of while blending technology with modern youth culture. Depop understand that identity is advanced marketing Sociologists Dr. Kaylene Williams and Dr. Robert Page of the self and everything, by extension, is for sale. postulate that Zoomers who grew up in the aftermath This idea of commodifiable selfhood is built into the of 9/11 and during the rise of school violence often fabric of the app and bought into by this generation as value security and self-sufficiency, rejecting large a whole. The thrifty and inexpensive nature of the app allows for fluidity of expression, as long as one pays for establishments in favor of the individual. In their formative years, popular franchises such it. as Hannah Montana and High School Musical intro+++ duced this independence to tweens on the cusp of adolescence, featuring characters that dress and act in their own self-interest. Hannah Montana’s father Similarly, TikTok puts “regular people” on both sides may have played an important role in her life, but of the screen, rejecting the notion that advanced Hannah had an independent career and final say over editing or equipment is necessary for quality producher actions as an artist and young woman, inspiring a tion. Although many college students and adults look generation of viewers to want the same for themselves. down upon the short clips as low-brow entertainment, According to a 2011 study published by the Journal TikTok provides the tools for creators to film whatof Behavioral Studies in Business, in breaking from ever they desire while the app learns what viewers norms of other generations, Gen-Z exists as a diverse want to see. The app’s Chinese parent company, but cohesive web. Coupled with the constant formation ByteDance, bought Musical.ly in November 2017 and of new social media platforms, this environment led to merged the platforms in August 2018 to create an app the creation of a generation more interconnected than for short form videos set to music. The music itself is ever before, as Zoomers constantly seek the accep- a phenomena, with heavy synthesizers, distorted tance of their peers. Whether that acceptance takes the voices, and bass drops that soundtrack transitions or form of likes or stylistic affirmations, this development serve as punchlines. One of the most popular songs, primed Gen-Z for both Depop and TikTok, as the inter- “Lottery” by K Camp, is used in the viral Renegade dance created by 14-year-old Jalaiah Harmon. The faces are designed to fit Zoomer needs. In 2011, the Italian culture and design magazine song has a repeating drum track, the word renegade is Pig created Depop to allow readers to purchase the spoken by a breathy female voice, and a man says “go” clothing and accessories featured in each issue. This multiple times before breathing heavily. The clip itself invention—and its descent from magazine format— is unspectacular, but made popular by its simplicity. complicated the distinction between the emulation It crescendos with repeating beats at the end of the 11 of trends and the forced participation in the market to seconds, creating a format perfectly suited for dancing. The Renegade dance can be—and has been— be an active member of a community. With the advent of Depop’s selling function, and subsequent arrival learned by anyone, which inspires everyone to try. As of Groupon executive Maria Raga in 2014, the app the app is designed for rapid mass-sharing, sounds became a marketplace for teens to buy, sell, and most and dances go viral, then disappear into obscurity importantly, trade. There are structural similarities with unprecedented frequency. Content is constantly between Depop and Instagram: both networks allow in conversation with itself, facilitated by the app’s users to follow other profiles—or personal storefronts— duet feature that allows for YoutTube-style reactions and hashtag their own posts to increase their following. to other videos. Users utilize a split screen suited for The apps complement each other, too: teens will buy a comic additions or call-and-response dances, tagging top for a single Instagram post and sell it the next day the original creator either in the comments or by to someone else, creating a globally-shared wardrobe simply using the same song. Unlike Instagram and Depop, TikTok first presthat at once promotes individuality while hovering over an exact stylistic epicenter. The grid format ents its users with the “ForYou” page, an endless utilized by both apps provides omniscient obser- algorithm-based amalgamation of videos, collected vance—the user sees everything in juxtaposition while from past viewing habits. While “explore” pages exploring posts by various accounts, though similar- are common, TikTok places its “ForYou” in the foreities in taste help conceal that each storefront has a front, as the first thing viewers access when opening different owner. Clicking on one picture and intuitively the app. Although each video on this page is distinct,
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