New Report From DPLA: “Checking Out TikTok: Positioning a Library to Aid Social Media Research Outside of Academia”

From the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA):

The digital town square. The public soap box. The decentralized water cooler. Social media platforms have become all these things and more. They’ve revolutionized how we communicate, connect, and consume information. But this revolution has also created a significant challenge for researchers trying to understand its impact on society. Where public discourse once unfolded in places accessible to all, it now happens in spaces that are often opaque to academic inquiry. This shift has profound implications for our understanding of everything from political discourse to misinformation to radicalization to international relations.

Our new research paper, Checking Out TikTok: Positioning a Library to Aid Social Media Research Outside of Academia, explores this very issue, examining some of the issues involved in understanding the societal effects of social media, and how libraries can play a crucial role in enabling vital research and preserving access to posts on this medium. With social media platforms in constant flux, as shown by TikTok’s current instability, it is critical researchers understand and archive digital pieces of our historical record.

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Our research reveals a stark reality: we are losing the battle on understanding the societal impacts of social media platforms. It’s a patchwork of under-resourced projects. When we spoke with researchers, we heard continuing themes of being under-resourced and stymied by platforms that made their work more difficult rather than less. This has to change.

We need to establish robust mechanisms that empower researchers, historians, and archivists to access and analyze social media data ethically and responsibly. Libraries, with their long-standing expertise in information management and preservation, are uniquely positioned to play a central role in this effort. They can provide the necessary infrastructure, tools, and expertise to support long-term research initiatives and ensure that this crucial part of our history is not lost.

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Direct to Full Text Report: Checking Out TikTok: Positioning a Library to Aid Social Media Research Outside of Academia
25 pages; PDF.

Filed under: Data Files, Journal Articles, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Preservation, Public Libraries