‘GangTok’: Study provides insights about the presence of gang culture on TikTok

Phys.org highlighted a new study by the University of Cincinnati that is shedding light on TikTok content produced by gang members.

The study analyzes 397 public TikTok videos associated with Latino gangs in Chicago to address four key areas: the genres of gang-related content; the extent to which these genres are circulated to the public; the perceived authenticity of the posts; and how performances on the tool complicate interpretations of offline identity.

John Leverso, an assistant professor in the UC School of Criminal Justice, is lead author on the research published in Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal. 

In the study, three main genres emerged: place-based memorials that document gang geography; traditional “gangbanging” performances that assert identity and provoke rivals; and role-playing simulations of gang life in Grand Theft Auto V.

The study uses “GangTok” as a descriptive shorthand for this ecology, where authentic, adjacent, and imitative performances coexist.

Researchers say these findings add contextual knowledge to the gang-related content practitioners and policymakers might encounter online. This context may help with correct interpretation of what’s happening and designing appropriate responses, instead of overreacting or ignoring what young people post and consume. More broadly, this study suggests that digital environments do not merely reflect gang culture, but also they help it continue.  

Leverso has long looked at gang culture on social media, but much of his early work focused on Facebook data. Now with a change in social media itself, he is examining how short-form, algorithmically curated platforms, like TikTok, operate differently than networked spaces like Facebook.

“What we see is both continuity and change,” explains Leverso. “Familiar repertoires are still there, but authenticity is negotiated differently, and insider–outsider boundaries blur in ways that complicate simple content-level interpretations.”

Other study co-authors include Chris Hess, assistant professor at Kennesaw State University; James Densley, professor at Metropolitan State University, and Kristonn Stubbs, a PhD student at the University of Cincinnati.

The full research study is available online.

Read the story on Phys.org. 

Listen to Dr. Leverso’s research discussion on the podcast, The Last Show with David Cooper. (Starts at 42:22 minutes.)

Learn more about Dr. John Leverso online.

Featured image from iStock.