“Journaling into the void”: TikTok’s eudaimonic “web-weaving” and its digital practices

Abstract

This thesis uses a mixed-methods qualitative approach to analyze TikTok “web-weaving” (WW) slideshows and the user practices that go into their curation. WW slideshows include a collection of images such as Tumblr blog posts, illustrations, book quotes, and poems that are eudaimonic (i.e., emotionally poignant, existential, or vulnerable) set to music with a caption. Study 1 employs a textual analysis of 100 slideshows, totalling to 1,321 slides, to discover their eudaimonic themes and how such topics are discussed. Drawing upon Marx’s theory of alienation and humanistic psychology, I analyze how WW slideshows promote personal growth (as defined by Maurer et al., 2023) and counter-hegemonic sentiments that challenge what psychologist Stephen Joseph (2021) calls “the demands of conservative ideologies” (p. 7) such as individualism, productivity, and capitalist realism (Fisher, 2009). WW slideshows highlight the necessity of community, resting, engaging in creative activities outside of capitalist labor relations, and maintaining hope for imagined better futures (Grant, 2005). Study 2a explores seven interviewees’ eudaimonic motives for using TikTok and curating slideshows and what the multi-platform slideshow curation process entails. Study 2b details the same interviewees’ eudaimonic gratifications of WW: increased self-connection, a psychologically safe environment, and social connectedness. Together, these studies bring attention to online self-disclosure practices related to mental health and personal growth within current Western capitalistic culture via an interdisciplinary critical media effects framework (Ramasubramanian & Banjo, 2020).