TikTok Awards, New Media & the New Celebrity

The Award Show

The TikTok Awards were held in Lahore at the Nishat Emporium last week on the eve of Valentine’s Day. An old-fashioned banquet hall was done up with new-age graphic design on banners all the way up to eye level, concealing from view the Victorian architecture of the hall. It seemed to be the perfect meta-phor for the new replacing the old, with the latter being unable to adapt adequately.

The show was put together by TikTok’s Pakistan team based in Dubai, and the official line was that the event was a show of gratitude to the content creators of Pakistan. The show did seem to have been held in earnest, albeit with deficient consciousness about the culture gap. Most of the nominees (the content creators) seemed out of place at the ceremony, which appeared to be a cross between a corporate event and a television awards show.

Hosted by Dino Ali and Anous-hey Ashraf, with performances by Hassan & Roshaan as well as a closing act by Hasan Raheem, the event seemed to cater more to the peripheral attendees (corporate figures, old-media cele-brities, and the press) rather than the nominees. It was impossible not to notice the huge class divide that exists in Pakistan, where the corporate and media elite struggle to understand the lived experience of the masses. Dwarfed by the attempts to glamorise the ceremony with mainstream celebrity performances, content creators soon became an almost invisible part of the event. Their discomfort was made obvious by some of them leaving as soon as they received their awards.

While it is important for major organisations such as TikTok to have frequent on-ground activities in a country like Pakistan, where physical social engagement and dialogue are integral, these efforts are undermined by a failure to find common ground between diverse social and economic classes. If such events are truly to be considered a success—not just in terms of optics but in their actual declared aim of showing gratitude to the creators—it is crucial to empower them with a larger role in shaping these events. Without this, such initiatives risk alienating and discouraging the very group they are meant to celebrate.

Perhaps a better alternative would have been to do away with Dino and Anoushey and have TikTokers host the event. This would have certainly made the nominees feel more represented and involved. As ‘New Media’ takes over the country’s online attention economy, ‘Old Media’ would do well to take a step back and show grace by allowing them greater presence in the physical sphere of media activity as well.

Despite its shortcomings, it is important to praise TikTok’s Pakistan team for putting together much-needed on-ground events.

New Media

The world of what used to be called ‘show business’ has experienced rapid transformation in Pakistan since the Musharraf government brought about the age of free media. With the integration of technology at the centre of this constant state of change, there is much to talk about and try to untangle. One thing that is certain is that the internet and social media have completely shattered the hegemony of the controllers of media. When Pakistan first experienced relative freedom in the entertainment industry, it was a shift from state-mediated television to private television. This shift, regardless of how progressive it felt at the time, was not as revolutionary as it may have seemed. It was a limit placed on our imaginations that concealed from view the possibility of actual ‘free media’. We could not perceive the middleman, the editor, being taken away. Our imagination had not made accommodations for the possibility of complete freedom and control in the hands of the entertainer, with almost negligible content-related interference by what used to be known as ‘the media outlet.’

Today, we live in a different world. The place formerly occupied by ‘media outlets’ has, in large part, been devoured by platforms such as those owned by Meta, as well as Google’s YouTube and, arguably most relevant to the media landscape of today, TikTok. So, is new media truly free?

Yes and no. The issue is nuanced. While content is user-driven, the platforms rely heavily on their algorithms to curate what is shown to users. Interestingly, what makes each of these platforms unique today is the nature of these algorithms and how they work for or against content creators.

Speaking to TikTok’s Head of Marketing, Saif Mujahid, I asked him what made TikTok unique. Mr Mujahid believes that TikTok is a ‘content-first’ platform. Upon further inquiry regarding how he believes this is unique to TikTok as compared to, for instance, YouTube, he hinted at the nature of the algorithm they use. This, however, did not help make the situation any less complicated. The real mystery behind the mechanisms of these platforms is often concealed by the word ‘algorithm’. Upon research, I learnt what Mr Mujahid was trying to hint at. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube, which are in competition with TikTok, have algorithms that work a little differently. In summary, services like Instagram rely on past activity to curate what is shown to users. This can include factors such as watch time, likes, shares, as well as saved posts. What makes TikTok unique is that even if a user doesn’t have a strong following, their content can go viral if it resonates with users quickly. TikTok’s algorithm also looks at factors such as video completion rate and replays. TikTok has also claimed that its algorithm does not prioritise followers or engagement from the creator’s profile but is instead more focused on how users respond to the specific content itself.

However, this last feature of the algorithm isn’t exclusive to TikTok. YouTube also has provisions for channels with a low number of followers to reach appropriate users.

Personally, I believe what makes TikTok truly unique is its ability to show you content that surprises you and isn’t entirely based on your particular taste. This is reminiscent of stumbling upon something interesting on television that you did not expect to watch or enjoy but serendipitously found engaging. This is an interesting phenomenon to explore, where almost infinite choice has led some people to yearn for broadcast-style entertainment, curated by the platform. TikTok’s novelty also lies in its introduction of ultra-short-form looped videos—something that other platforms were quick to adapt. Perhaps a more appropriate tagline from TikTok’s PR department would be that it is a ‘viral-first’ platform, as it thrives on trends and challenges revolving around specific songs, dances, etc. Another key reason for its success has been its powerful and easy-to-use editing tools, including filters, AR effects, text overlays, transitions, and more. These features empower creators to produce polished content directly within the app. TikTok also made music an integral part of video creation. The ability to lip-sync, react to, or integrate songs into videos was revolutionary and, once again, was quickly adopted by Instagram Reels.

To ‘New Media’s’ credit, however, I should add that ownership of content has been revolutionised. Whereas ‘Old Media’ wielded great power due to ownership of content—despite it being created by talented individuals who often went unnoticed— ‘New Media’ has given creators unprecedented visibility and control.

The New Celebrity

As the media landscape continues to change at an unprecedented rate, it is difficult to understand what it means to be a celebrity today. Simultaneously, it is also interesting to see how traditional celebrities navigate this new terrain and how traditional media houses employ social media trends and audience engagement to market their television plays.

While speaking to Dino Ali at the TikTok Awards, I was interested to get his take on how he feels about old celebrities in today’s media landscape. “I think it’s really cool when someone I have looked up to all my life is not on social media. I like that,” said Dino, who has been directly involved in Pakistan’s music and, to some extent, television industry for almost two decades. Such opinions, however, do not seem to affect Atif Aslam, who has recently been trying his hand at comedy reels on social media.

There are also celebrities like Hania Amir and Osman Khalid Butt, who rose to fame from social media origins and continue to exist as both mainstream as well as social media celebrities. However, the most interesting of these is the ‘new celebrity’—those who have nothing to do with the so-called ‘mainstream media’ and have been instrumental in changing the definition of ‘mainstream.’

While traditional celebrities’ relevance dwindles in the age of ‘New Media,’ many struggle to compete with online content creators for the attention economy. As they shed the allure of mystery by broadcasting their everyday lives and appearing on podcasts, successful content creators carefully walk the tightrope between private and public life. Speaking to Bilal Hassan (@mystapaki on Instagram), I learnt how a successful influencer manages this effectively. “I’m very careful about where I draw the line. I posted a picture of an event from my sister’s wedding, and I started getting messages from followers who said they couldn’t wait for the wedding reels. I was very clear about how that is not going to happen,” says Bilal.

The takeaway from comments such as this, as well as observing many successful creators online, is that while traditional celebrities start giving away their actual personal lives, new content creators produce content that is meant to mimic reality but is fully staged. Not only is the content itself often scripted and staged, but the process of editing is rigorous, as I learnt from talking to creators who were surprisingly very conscious about what makes the cut and what is absolutely off-limits. The old celebrity feels ill-equipped to deal with the modus operandi of the day and simply seems to struggle to keep up. Perhaps a good idea would be for them to stay off and keep the mystery alive—or else seek the services of whoever is responsible for curating and launching Atif Aslam’s content creator era.

The author writes about

culture, art and identity.

More of his work can be found on instagram.com/un.eeeb/.