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Bridging the Self's Worlds: Young Girls' Creative TikTok Expressions of Multimodal Literacy during COVID-19

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Title: Bridging the Self's Worlds: Young Girls' Creative TikTok Expressions of Multimodal Literacy during COVID-19
Language: English
Authors: Jue Wang (ORCID 0009-0007-2912-9560)
Source: Journal of Early Childhood Literacy. 2026 26(1):195-213.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Early Childhood Education
Grade 1
Primary Education
Descriptors: Young Children, Females, Social Media, COVID-19, Pandemics, Empowerment, Femininity, Multiple Literacies, Self Concept, Elementary School Students, Grade 1, Foreign Countries, Language Skills, Popular Culture
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1177/14687984241270820
ISSN: 1468-7984
1741-2919
Abstract: This study investigates three young Chinese girls' active play on TikTok as a way to engage in global communication during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. In particular, this paper aims to navigate how the girls position themselves in TikTok multimodal literacy play, as well as to inquire into how they practice literacy to deny, negotiate, and/or accept the beauty norms in TikTok virtual space. Situating and exploring these young girls' stories, the author shares findings from multiple rounds of virtual interviews during the pandemic that highlight the girls' creativity through multimodal literacy engagement on TikTok; their playful thinking that adopted the pandemic as a way of life and empowered the girls despite uncertainties, doubts, and tensions; and their complex beauty values negotiations embedded in the experiences of the girls' vibrant interactions on TikTok. Inspired by the girls' literacy practices and gender negotiations, TikTok's influences on norms of beauty and feminine appearance are discussed. Interrogating the limits of this platform, this work recognizes the possibilities of young girls' multimodal literacy experiences while encouraging further negotiations, reimaginations, and growth in their celebrations of social media like TikTok.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1499141
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Bridging the Self's Worlds: Young Girls' Creative TikTok Expressions of Multimodal Literacy during COVID-19
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jue+Wang%22">Jue Wang</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2912-9560">0009-0007-2912-9560</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Early+Childhood+Literacy%22"><i>Journal of Early Childhood Literacy</i></searchLink>. 2026 26(1):195-213.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 19
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Grade+1%22">Grade 1</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Primary+Education%22">Primary Education</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Young+Children%22">Young Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Females%22">Females</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Media%22">Social Media</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22COVID-19%22">COVID-19</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pandemics%22">Pandemics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empowerment%22">Empowerment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Femininity%22">Femininity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multiple+Literacies%22">Multiple Literacies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Concept%22">Self Concept</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Students%22">Elementary School Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Grade+1%22">Grade 1</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Skills%22">Language Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Popular+Culture%22">Popular Culture</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
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  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1177/14687984241270820
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1468-7984<br />1741-2919
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: This study investigates three young Chinese girls' active play on TikTok as a way to engage in global communication during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. In particular, this paper aims to navigate how the girls position themselves in TikTok multimodal literacy play, as well as to inquire into how they practice literacy to deny, negotiate, and/or accept the beauty norms in TikTok virtual space. Situating and exploring these young girls' stories, the author shares findings from multiple rounds of virtual interviews during the pandemic that highlight the girls' creativity through multimodal literacy engagement on TikTok; their playful thinking that adopted the pandemic as a way of life and empowered the girls despite uncertainties, doubts, and tensions; and their complex beauty values negotiations embedded in the experiences of the girls' vibrant interactions on TikTok. Inspired by the girls' literacy practices and gender negotiations, TikTok's influences on norms of beauty and feminine appearance are discussed. Interrogating the limits of this platform, this work recognizes the possibilities of young girls' multimodal literacy experiences while encouraging further negotiations, reimaginations, and growth in their celebrations of social media like TikTok.
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: EJ1499141
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        Value: 10.1177/14687984241270820
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      – Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Young Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Females
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      – SubjectFull: Self Concept
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      – SubjectFull: China
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      – TitleFull: Bridging the Self's Worlds: Young Girls' Creative TikTok Expressions of Multimodal Literacy during COVID-19
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