SELFHOOD on: TikTok comedy
by Kyra Clement
Photo by Anna Shvets
You’re lying on your bed, smirking and occasionally cackling at your phone. Where have the past 2 hours gone? We’ve all been here before, held captive to the shackles of TikTok, down a very niche hole you didn’t even realise existed. But what is it that keeps us scrolling for hours on end?
More often than not, it’s because it’s pretty damn funny.
TikTok is changing comedy and there’s no two ways about it.
If we think back to before the democratisation of media, comedy was a guarded space. To get yourself heard, you had to prove yourself to the circuit gatekeepers, meaning your exposure was almost completely out of your control and in the hands of talent agents and club owners. Your only other option would be to take your penniless act to the Edinburgh Fringe in the desperate hope of being scouted… a painful endeavour that favours the rich.
Times have changed and getting your stuff out there is quite literally one click away. This has opened the doors for new, exciting and diverse comedic talent that previously would have been confined to bedrooms or being ‘the funny one’ in friendship groups.
TikTok comedian and SELFHOOD member Izzy Radford, 21, explained:
“I don’t have to have had any stand-up experience…it’s very accessible, anyone can start making videos”.
What was once (and arguably still is) a male dominated space has most definitely opened up, as we see the likes of @zozoroe, @elsa.majimbo and @maddylucydann taking the spotlight with their wit and irreverence.
What’s more, it has allowed for comedy to be much more introverted.
This new age of online comedy has completely abolished stereotypes of what a comedian ‘should’ be like, giving a voice to those who might consider the prospect of stand-up terrifying.
The gatekeepers are being stripped of their powers and communities are now able to explore and enjoy what they find funny. Just as we’re seeing in the music industry, skipping the middleman has created a level playing field, with the audience now assuming the role of star makers.
TikTok did not start this evolution, nor will it end here. Youtube and Vine laid the foundation, putting creative autonomy back into the hands of the creators. TikTok have taken it one step further by championing the weird and the wonderful. The more niche, unpolished and candid the video, the better.
Handing over the reins has made way for incredibly specific, tongue in cheek humour. TikTok superstar @kyronhailton has amassed an incredible 1.2M followers and 50.8M likes from doing teacher impersonations. Personifying inanimate objects in hilariously accurate ways has also taken off, with the likes of @kennykisses and @izzyradcomedy blazing the trail for this very specific type of humour.
Whatever your flavour of comedy, there’s no doubt you can find it on TikTok.
For the majority of TikTok comedians we’ve spoken to, their journey coincided with the pandemic. What began as a way of passing time, expressing themselves and reconnecting with others, quickly turned into overnight stardom thanks to the global reach and meritocratic nature of the platform.
SELFHOOD member Alex Huggins, 19, told us:
“It was a bit of a piss take to start with, I got a couple of followers and then I posted a couple videos that went massive out of nowhere”.
Put simply, TikTok helps young people get noticed and find the audience their talent deserves – even if they’re not searching for it.
Whilst more deliberate attempts to become ‘TikTok famous’ are still met with derision by older generations, it looks like Gen Z will have the last laugh.