‘The EcoTok crew had a blast at the Isle of sky in Scotland!’[1]
Recently we have all seen the increasing relevance of TikTok in our daily lives and routines. Scrolling for hours through hundreds of short dancing videos for entertainment. But what has this got to do with the environment? EcoTok is the answer to all your prayers! The collaboration of 17 creators from 17 different backgrounds started off with one goal – to save the planet. It has grown from this in 2020 to a huge platform on TikTok with over 116K followers! Not only this, but its hashtag coverage has reached a phenomenal 275.2mn views. That’s a lot of hashtags!
The aim of the project is ‘empower the younger generation to do something about it by teaching them about science, activism, and ways to make changes in their own life’[2]. Anyone can make a difference to this global objective. They want to ‘normalize talking about environmental issues amongst young people’ as too often it is not talked about, when its relevance mainly concerns those who will be most affected by it. This platform allows individuals from all over the world to contribute their own ideas and solutions to our global goal, from the comfort of their own homes!
The posts include ideas from throwing away fireworks on the 4th of July (33.2K) to zero waste substitutes within your own household (301.6K views). What do you want the site to cover?
Climate anxiety is a real issue. When it comes to young people expressing their views on environmental issues, they sometimes find it difficult, which is why EcoTok is an amazing platform to help tackle this issue. ‘Climate change has important implications for the health and futures of children and young people, yet they have little power to limit its harm, making them vulnerable to climate anxiety.’[3] This project conducted a survey on children and young people from 10 different countries. Invitations to complete the survey were sent to participants to collect data about their thoughts and feelings relating to climate change and the government’s response. ‘Respondents across all countries were worried about climate change (59% were very or extremely worried and 84% were at least moderately worried)’. The figures go on to show how affected young people truly are by this issue. ‘Climate anxiety and dissatisfaction with government responses are widespread in children and young people in countries across the world and impact their daily functioning’.
We need to come together as a global community to tackle this problem, and TikTok is a fabulous place to start.
[1]eco.tok, ‘The EcoTok crew had a blast at the Isle of sky in Scotland!’ (17 October 2021) < <https://www.instagram.com/p/CVIK5bKLm1-/ > Accessed 4th March 2022 [2] EcoTok, ‘About Us’ EcoTok, <https://www.ecotokbusiness.com/about-us> Accessed 16th February 2022 [3] Hickman, C MSc, and others. ‘Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey’, The Lancet (1 December 2021) <https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00278-3/fulltext> Accessed 16th February 2022