Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications

Major Professor

Mildred Perreault, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Jones Lister, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Gregory Perreault, Ph.D.

Keywords

TikTok, Nostalgia, Medium is the Message, Transfer Propaganda, Marshall McLuhan, Sonic Branding

Abstract

“If the formative power in the media are the media themselves, that raises a host of large matters” (McLuhan, 1964, p. 10). Famed communications theorist Marshall McLuhan stated this all the way back in the 60s to explain how technology can act as a formative force in the messaging of media. This is because the medium in which they communicate the messaging can act as its own force, shaping the message like clay. The dominant media at the time of this theory was television; however, in the past decade social media and short-form social media videos have become dominant forms of media that people turn to. It would be assumed then that messages in the video are what dictate the takeaway for consumers of this media. However, a mismatch has been observed in some trends in short-form social media videos between text and audio messaging. Through the application of Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Message,” this study aimed to investigate the different aspects of the short-form social media videos medium which contribute to creating a message and how trends occur despite the mismatch A theory-driven deductive coding methodology and thematic analysis were employed to investigate preliminary codes exploring emotional dissonance, identity signaling, and use of the medium in content helped guide initial coding. Millions of people are exposed to and participate in the circulation of topics like body image issues and gendered stereotypes, which are re-framed and made humorous through the use of nostalgic music. Mismatched messages created contrast that made the videos with a mismatch seem humorous and light-hearted, resulting in better algorithmic performance and more popularity. MEAMs, Nostalgia, and TikTok trends provide light into the power of using mismatched music to link to trends and provide more insight into why studies of TikTok and popular social media platforms are important to the field of media literacy.

Download

Included in

Communication Commons

Share

COinS