Tik Tok Drama and Networks
Tik Tok is a social media app that has gained popularity over the past year and is used to create and share 15-60 second clips. Creators have the ability to add a myriad of sounds, filters, and interact with other features to enhance the video. Other than creating short videos, the other significant component of Tik Tok is its “For You” page, which is the first page a user sees when they open the app. This is the algorithmic feed that shows the user videos based on media or people that they have previously watched or interacted with (Herrman). This model has made it easier for casual users to go viral and start new trends. Tik Tok is also known for starting the careers of some of the most popular influencers, most notably Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio. A considerable amount of drama takes place on and off the app between influencers about a range of petty topics, but the most recent episode is about relationships. Dixie D’amelio, one of Tik Tok’s famous influencers, started dating another content creator, Griffin Johnson, in March 2020. After there were rumors of him cheating, Dixie confirmed breaking up with Griffin in August 2020. Griffin Johnson is also part of one of the content houses, Sway House, that carry a large presence on Tik Tok (Lorenz). Noah Beck, another Tik Tok content creator and also in Sway House, is one of Griffin’s closest friends, and through mutual relationships (Griffin and possibly other related influencers) Dixie knew him.
This is a network structure of the Dixie, Griffin, and Noah’s relationship while Dixie and Griffin were dating:
Since they were dating, Griffin had a strong relationship with Dixie, and because Noah and Griffin were in the same content house, they also had a strong relationship. Through personal relationships with Griffin Johnson, Dixie D’amelio and Noah Beck knew of each other and therefore had a weak tie. This representation satisfies Strong Triadic Closure—Griffin has strong ties with his girlfriend and one of his closest friends, so his girlfriend and friend will have some tie connecting them, and in this case it is a weak tie.
After Griffin and Dixie broke up, Noah and Dixie were seen spending a lot of time together, and are now saying that they are only best friends. Recently, Griffin Johnson released a new song, “Convenient,” blaming Dixie for allegedly lying about details of the break up, and he also subtly mentioned Noah’s name in the track (Twersky). As a result of the break up and recent events, this is the new relationship between Dixie, Griffin, and Noah:
Now that they are best friends, Dixie and Noah have a strong tie, and due to the break up and the new song, Dixie and Noah have weak ties with Griffin. Although the relationship dynamics completely changed, the structure still satisfies Strong Triadic Closure, as there aren’t two strong ties between any of the nodes anyways.
From a structural balance lens, this is what Dixie, Griffin, and Noah’s relationship looked like when Dixie and Griffin were dating:
Dixie, Griffin, and Noah still all have positive relations with each other, even though Dixie and Noah have a weaker tie. The network follows the Structural Balance Theorem, wherein all edges either have to be all positive, or two edges are negative and one edge is positive. However, after breaking up, this is what the trio’s network looked like:
The network is still structurally balanced, but with a positive edge between Dixie and Noah, but both of them have negative relationships with Griffin. It is interesting to note that although the relationships between each individual completely changed, the network is still balanced. However, the balance is also fragile because the moment that one party decides to repair their relationship with Griffin, or if Dixie and Noah soon become enemies, then the network is unbalanced.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/10/style/what-is-tik-tok.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/style/hype-house-los-angeles-tik-tok.html