Authentok: Uncovering The Authenticity of Lifestyle Tiktoking

Alongside the accelerated rise of the popular short-form video app, TikTok has emerged the phenomenon of Lifestyle TikTokers. Lifestyle TikTokers are social media influencers who post daily visual narrations of their seemingly idyllic lives on TikTok. As Lifestyle TikToking grows in popularity, so do the audiences observing these videos. However, unlike other TikTokers with distinctive niches, Lifestyle TikTokers gain their followings by posting aesthetically pleasing and desirable TikToks of what is presumed to be their authentic daily lives. Drawing on previously researched information regarding authenticity and influencer culture, as well as popular Lifestyle TikTok accounts, and conducting first-hand descriptive research, this study reveals that Lifestyle TikToking is not nearly as authentic as it appears to viewers. It argues that multiple factors go into the planning, filming, and editing of these TikToks' which ultimately hinders the validity and authenticity of these posts.