Beyond the Dance – TikTok, Credit, and Cultural Connection

Of course, this kind of digital sharing comes with both positives and challenges. On one hand, it’s amazing how accessible creativity has become; people from different backgrounds can collaborate, remix, and reinterpret ideas freely. It creates unity and shared experience, especially during moments like the pandemic when physical connection wasn’t possible.

But on the other hand, there’s a fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. I remember reading an article in my AP Seminar class last year about how some TikTok trends, especially dance ones, have been criticized for not giving credit to their original creators, many of whom come from marginalized communities.

When culture spreads this fast, ownership and context can easily get lost along the way.

Still, the rise of TikTok dances showed something powerful: we’re living in a time where young people are shaping global culture from their bedrooms. Movements, quite literally, move the world.

Looking back at that seventh-grade memory, I realize it wasn’t just a moment of internet fame; it was a glimpse of how culture evolves in real time. Whether through dance, music, or memes, TikTok has become the Silk Road of the digital age, a place where ideas travel, transform, and remind us how connected we really are.