Status : Verified
| Personal Name | Lordivine Marie Marie |
|---|---|
| Resource Title | Platformization of Labor on TikTok: The Case of Filipino TikTok Online Sellers |
| Date Issued | 12 June 2026 |
| Abstract | As the precariat expands within the Philippine TikTok-selling industry, Nieborg and Poell’s (2018) Platformization Theory helps unpack the unpaid and invisible labor practices that emerge. Using a mixed methods approach, combining content analysis of TikTok online selling videos and interviews with online sellers themselves, this thesis examines the unpaid and invisible labor practices, platform myths, coping mechanisms, and governance experiences of Filipino TikTok sellers through their platformed, commission-based gigs. Content analysis revealed that platform features with obvious commercial content (i.e., yellow basket, hashtag, and audio) reduces engagement efficiency, contrary to common myths about visibility structures. Meanwhile, interviews demonstrated how TikTok sellers live in false hopes, shaped through ‘Algocracy’, that is, the platform's governance of normal labor relations and ethics. Rather than earning solely through entrepreneurial skills or product quality, Filipino TikTok sellers depend heavily on platform infrastructures such as the For You Page algorithm and strategies to boost engagement metrics to gain visibility. These results demonstrate that although TikTok offers an equitable platform for online selling and flexible work, its algorithm has enabled modern forms of subordination and unjust labor that go unchecked and unaddressed. |
| Degree Course | BA Communication Research |
| Language | Filipino; Cebuano; English |
| Keyword | platformization of labor, precariart, algocracy, Filipino TikTok sellers |
| Material Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Preliminary Pages
1.64 Mb
Category : P - Author wishes to publish the work personally.
Access Permission : Limited Access