TikTok Generation Creates and Shares Video Content
Photo of Cardinals Sharing a Cigarette Becomes a Meme
Short-form video "Pope Games," where influencer and comedian Rob Anderson cleverly analyzes the tendencies of each cardinal. Rob Anderson TikTok account
The conclave, the solemn ritual to select the successor of Pope Francis, who passed away last month, has been transformed into a festive event after meeting the "TikTok generation."
On May 7 (local time), the U.S. online media Axios described how the TikTok generation is enjoying the conclave as a festival by using the social networking service TikTok, likening it to the United States' biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl, and calling it the "Catholic Super Bowl."
The TikTok generation is watching the conclave and actively creating related short-form video content. They are sharing edited videos supporting their preferred cardinals and skits imagining what the cardinals' closed-door meetings might look like. The "Pope Games" content, in which influencer and comedian Rob Anderson cleverly analyzes the tendencies of each cardinal, has surpassed 5 million views on TikTok. According to the New York Times, a photo of one cardinal lighting another cardinal's cigarette has become a meme and has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter).
TikTok did not exist in the United States in 2013, when Pope Francis was elected. At that time, the only meme was a seagull sitting atop the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in Italy. As internet users waited for the smoke signaling the election result to appear, they were entertained by the seagull's image being broadcast live on CNN and other channels, even creating Twitter accounts for the occasion.
On May 7, when the first vote of the conclave began, no new pope was elected. Around 9 p.m. that day, black smoke rose from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, where the conclave was held. This means that in the first vote among the 133 cardinals under the age of 80 participating in the conclave, no candidate received the support of at least 89 cardinals, which is more than two-thirds of the electors.
Foreign media outlets believe there is a high likelihood that the pope will be chosen in the vote on May 8 or May 9. In the last ten conclaves, the average duration to elect a pope was about three days, and it has never taken more than five days. Pope Francis was elected on the second day of the 2013 conclave.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
