EduTok, an attempt by TikTok to remove its ‘frivolous’ tagline?

TikTok has lately been talking of the town and with the recent launch of the EduTok programme, the buzz around it has grown even more. Yes, apparently the sweetheart of the digital world is storming into the education sphere by providing bite-sized e-learning content through its platform.

Edutok programme

TikTok describes it as a “multi-phased integrated initiative aligned with the wider objective of democratising learning for the Indian digital community on the platform”. According to the company, to date, around 10 million content pieces have been created using the #EduTok hashtag that have generated over 48 billion views. Yes, we are talking billions here. Well, considering its 200 million user base in India, the number is bound to cross nine figures.

The success has led to the Bytedance Company collaborating with leading social enterprises like Josh Talks and The Nudge Foundation to launch a mentorship programme for the creators.

As part of the plan, Josh Talks will launch 25 #EduTok workshops for TikTok creators and shortlist 5k candidates who will be given the opportunity to attend a hands-on learning programme organised by the already existing educational video content creators in TikTok. On the other hand, Nudge Foundation plans to create custom content for them the focus of which will be on critical topics like soft skills, identity building, job readiness etc.

Additionally, the company has also partnered with ed-tech companies like Toppr, Vedantu and Make Easy to deliver subject-focused content through its platform.

Obviously, education is much more than learning maths and science and hence its content also encompasses health and fitness topics. Through easy-to-digest capsules, the #EduTok creators deliver simple yet effective health tips. Even actress/singer Sophie Choudhary is unable to get her hands off this medium. Her health chat show, Work It Up, a Voot creation is also on TikTok. No one has the time to go through long videos, so hopefully, by providing bite-sized content, TikTok achieves what it aimed for.

EduTok, an attempt by TikTok to clean its image?

TikTok has turned to be a catnip among teens and millennials. Considering the kind of content it has, ‘frivolous’ is what many referred to it as well. Moreover, users’ addiction towards it has led to some serious implications which are nothing unheard of. Furthermore, Madras High Court had put a ban on it for encouraging sharing of obscenity in its platform which was lifted 20 days later. The app later upgraded its usage policies, removing over 6 million videos that violated community guidelines making the app safer for users.

With TikTok’s incursion into the education sphere, many are left wondering if this is an attempt by the company to clean its image. However, the kind of content it delivers through the #EduTok programme has left us no room for judgements. Versatility is what it seems to be aiming for and as long as the company is helping people and encouraging the learners’ community, who are we to complain?

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