I've really noticed this over the summer this year. I work at a summer camp, which never, ever had another therian (or anyone who knew about therianthropy) show up, kids or staff, in all the years I have been working there. Suddenly this year we had at least one kid (sometimes two) show up every single week claiming to be a therian and even more (including staff members) who knew about its existence.

I chalked it up to the rise in social media exposure and like others have said, I believe many of these "pups" will turn out not to be genuine therians later on. This is common with kids in general. Older kids might be trying on identities, which is great for self-discovery as long as they aren't hurting anyone or themselves, but with the younger kids its just something fun to do that they think is cool. Young kids play pretend all the time for these reasons, and while it is a way of discovering identity, young kids aren't really conscious of this yet. It makes them more prone to "copying" behavior so they see something online and simply copy it and kids are getting access to online content at younger and younger ages so we're seeing it more often.

I think it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the social media exposure is making it easier for genuine therians to find out about it and who they are. The only reason I found out about it before the social media age was because I was starting to worry I had some mental condition and my research led me here. The greater exposure could spare others that unpleasant questioning. One the other hand though, the misinformation as we've all discussed many times is a problem leading therians down wrong paths and making others think more negatively about therianthropy which is harming therians even more, and unfortunately, hardly anyone takes time to actually research these days. At least the older ones. Young kids naturally aren't going to.

I think it's telling too that it's the kids that social media therian content is influencing so much. Adults who see such content simply comment about it, they mostly don't seem to consider at all that they might be a therian, but I suppose this might also have something to do with most adults have a good sense of who they are. The oldest therian camper I had this year that I got to talk to at length with and have some good conversation told me I was the first adult therian they had come across and I think it also surprised them at how subtle I am about therianthropy. The only way they identified me as one was because of my theta-delta tat and at first I was a bit reluctant to discuss it around the rest of the group. It speaks to the phenomenon we're discussing here that social media therianthropy is about identity "try-ons" for some and a cool trend for others. The pups I had at camp were much more open about their therianthropy, which is awesome in a way, I think because it seems normal to do so based on the culture online.

I hate how most tiktok therians are fake, but I'm not exactly against the idea of therians using tiktok or social media. I used to have a friend who makes edits and posts them online. While a lot of them are fake, some of them are still real.

Many things! So many things that I literally have a list, but I’ll spare you of it. For the most part, it’s just a lot of ways that I don’t fit in with human beings.

I don’t feel connected to humans, I don’t think like they do, when I watch humans I feel like I’m watching a different species, I don’t get along with them, I don’t feel attracted to them (asexuallll), and I just don’t understand a lot of their culture at all. From war to socializing to however the heck humans enjoy making eye contact with each other and don’t see it as aggressive...I’m lost. Very lost.

So! If I’m not human, I must be something else. I thought I was koalakin for a little while, then grizzly bearkin, but then discovered cryptids...and everything suddenly made sense. I do enjoy being alone, being shrouded in nature or imagining living in liminal spaces or empty buildings. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by human life, dissociation and isolation is always the first thing I turn to. Just laying down with all the lights off in complete darkness, or looking through images of liminal spaces and losing myself in them, or going outside in the dead of night when no other humans are awake. It’s incredible. It feels like home. I truly am a cryptid at heart and at mind.

...oh, also some other stuff like my mood changing with the weather and prolonged staring were always issues I had. Cool stuff!

The topic of "tik-tok therians" gets brought up on TG a lot, and while I understand the hostility, I don't really think it is surprising that children are drawn to the idea of therianthropy. For kids, especially those who are neurodivergent or don't "fit in" for any reason, animals can bring a great comfort. A lot of kids who don't fit in are constantly looking for communities to join, so making therianthropy a trend or aesthetic makes it more accessible to them. They are also looking for reasons as to why they don't fit in or get along with other people their age, and to put it simply, not being human is a really good explanation for why someone doesn't understand humans or get along with humans. Aesthetics in general have been on the rise, and therianthropy is not the only identity that has been watered down because of it. Many subcultures have been turned into aesthetics on tik-tok and those communities also suffer because of it. Aesthetics and the trends that go along with them lead to easily digestible social media posts and consumerism, which is what algorithms love.
I guess my main point is, therianthropy is being portrayed as an aesthetic or trend online because that is simply how social media works, and that kids, especially neurodivergent kids, are bound to be drawn to therianthropy specifically.

I'm biased because I dislike tiktok and its userbase. However i'm convinced that 99.9% of people who come from tiktok claiming to be therian/otherkin, specifically children, are going through some kind of fitting in phase.

(2024-08-14 11:19)D_Lizard Wrote:  Yea thats true.
But because of the current generation having like 4-5x more accessibility to the internet than those before.

Which makes it a lot more/bigger than before.

(Feel free to correct me if anything i say is incorrectly said)

The concept of Eternal September might be of interest to you.

(2014-10-23 22:51)DustWolf Wrote:  Hello,

We would like to warn all of the underage visitors of our website to be careful not to trust any adults who are filrtatious or hinting at being sexual with you or meeting you in person.

We monitor this website to keep you safe, however because we cannot control what happens on other websites, but really care about your wellbeing, we ask you to understand this and keep safe everywhere.

This isn't simply another "because we said so". We know that it seems appealing, or even wonderful to gain all that attention of an adult. We also know you feel it is right to protect those who appeal to your sympathies. However keep in mind, that people who do this while being flirtatious or sexual with you, do not have your best interest in mind. They plan to use you, say all those things to make you feel sorry for them to gain your sympathies or shower you with attention if they sense that's what's required, just to manipulate you, to get what they want you to do for them -- and then discard you.

In short, they don't really love you. We do. Please be smart, say no and report them.

LP,
Dusty

(2024-08-14 8:15)Siris Wrote:  not a new phenomena just a new platform. said it many times it was tumblr-kin and wolfaboos from twilight before, tiktok-kin are just the newest breed.

Yea thats true.
But because of the current generation having like 4-5x more accessibility to the internet than those before.

Which makes it a lot more/bigger than before.

(Feel free to correct me if anything i say is incorrectly said)

not a new phenomena just a new platform. said it many times it was tumblr-kin and wolfaboos from twilight before, tiktok-kin are just the newest breed.

(2024-08-13 21:31)D_Lizard Wrote:  

(2024-08-13 16:30)LavenderWobbleDragon Wrote:  I was made aware of the community through tiktok, but I had a feeling there was more to it, so I researched, until I ended up here.

I found it through YouTube shorts.
I wasn't really intrested untill i found one about being a therian is not a choice.

That made me intrested and i went to le good o'l google aaaaaand somehow, somewhere ended up here xD.


Honestly people should do research about something before they say im that or this tho.

Tbh I found it through tiktok comps on youtube and not exactly tiktok itself.