Chinese in a Pandemic: TikTok as a Window Into Chinese People’s Lives During COVID-19

Abstract

TikTok, a popular short video app in China, played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Offering a window into people's daily lives against this traumatic background, TikTok was used as a research site in this study to figure out how Chinese people manifested their experiences and feelings. This study used the hashtag as a methodological tool for data selection and analyzed the videos through a thematic analysis approach. Findings indicate that Chinese people tended to express their emotional needs in TikTok videos and took a positive attitude to handle the negative feelings during the quarantine. Besides, all the videos are prone to manifest a feeling of patriotism. The study stresses the humoristic features of TikTok and the characteristics of the videos crafted according to the ethos and norms of the platform.