Given the situation where many TikTok users, posing as or supposedly being teachers or students, are creating videos with offensive and inappropriate content to post on the platform—such as using vulgar language, teaching how to love, dancing provocatively, smoking, mocking teachers, or showing off cheating methods, as Thanh Nien newspaper has previously reported—many professional TikTokers also see school life as a "fertile" topic for content creation. However, not all videos are beneficial and wholesome.
"Teacher" and "student" perform an inappropriate scene.
One of the prominent and frequently exploited content on TikTok is role-playing, where TikTokers take on typical classroom roles such as teachers, supervisors, parents, and students to act out pre-written scripts set in a school environment, often with humorous elements. Typical examples of this trend include accounts like YYD, HHO, and GH, which have hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of likes on TikTok.
Many TikTokers create videos role-playing as teachers and students with offensive content, garnering a large amount of interaction.
On their personal pages, these TikTokers specialize in posting videos where they play various roles and take turns responding to each other, with a significant amount of content being offensive. For example, in a video with over 337,000 views by YYD, after the "teacher" says, "You must treat school like your home," the "student" retorts, "If this were my home, I wouldn't have let you in." Or in a video with nearly 1 million views posted by HHO, when the "teacher" says, "Whoever talks too much, get out of the class," the "student" replies, "Yes, I'm asking you to leave the class, you've been the most talkative," after which the "teacher" slaps the "student" in the face.
In another video with approximately 2.4 million views, TikToker BL plays a role alongside a colleague, with two wearing white shirts and red scarves, and one wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress, illustrating the image of a student and a teacher. However, their dialogue is disrespectful compared to the intended image. Specifically, the "student" says, "Teacher, can we take a day off tomorrow?" When the "teacher" asks why, the "student" threatens, "You're asking too many questions, now I'll give it to you for free... In this underworld, you're the one I respect the most, that's why I'm asking for your permission..."
Speaking about TikTok videos featuring impersonations of teachers and students, Le Phuong Uyen, a journalism student at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, believes this is just the "tip of the iceberg." "I myself have seen many offensive videos about school life posted on TikTok channels in Vietnam and internationally, most notably the 'sexualization' of teachers, such as 'Teacher Thao' or 'Teacher Wilson and student Jessica'...", the student stated.
Many professional TikTokers choose to create content based on school-related themes, but they often engage in offensive and inappropriate behavior and statements that are contrary to educational principles.
According to Uyen, these videos can have a significant impact on the perceptions of students and teachers, especially by undermining moral values such as respect for teachers. "For students, they may develop a biased view of the teaching profession, leading to inappropriate thoughts and behaviors such as treating teachers as equals. As for teachers, the negative behavior of students, both in real life and on social media, can cause them some degree of harm," Uyen stated.
Composing poetry and offering harmful career guidance.
Literature found in textbooks, including famous poems like "Lượm " and "Nam Quốc Sơn Hà, " is particularly relevant to school-age children. This material is often reworked by TikTokers to create catchy songs, but these often include offensive content and imagery.
Most recently, in late April 2023, the internet phenomenon "Little Boy," embraced by many young TikTokers, faced intense controversy due to its lyrics and imagery. Specifically, the song's lyrics were adapted from the poem "Lượm" by Tố Hữu, but modified in a nonsensical way, including the line "little boy, with a pretty little bag, nimble feet, a... short haircut." Notably, TikTokers combined this parody song with images showing skin or female students in traditional Vietnamese dresses posing in suggestive ways.
The parody song "Little Boy" and many related offensive videos have now been removed from the TikTok platform.
In a video that garnered approximately 6.2 million views, the work "Nam Quoc Son Ha," considered Vietnam's first declaration of independence, was parodied by TikTokers into a song... for drinking parties. Specifically, in the video, the lyrics were altered to: "Nam Quoc Son Ha, Nam De Cu, wine left for too long will spoil, letting wine spoil is a waste, brothers, let's raise our glasses!" accompanied by an image of a drinking table.
Career guidance is not immune to distortions, such as the "most useless university degrees in Vietnam" trend in March 2023. These videos shared a common message advising students to abandon majors like business administration, real estate, English language, and marketing because they were "the most useless," "easily lead to unemployment," and "have no future." Many experts considered this subjective and baseless, primarily aimed at attracting views, lacking any career guidance value, yet causing a stir in public opinion.
To use TikTok effectively
Commenting on the anti-educational content on TikTok, reader Phan Hung Duy suggested that a law protecting traditional customs and morals is needed, thereby creating opportunities for authorities to take stronger action in maintaining national culture and traditions, as well as protecting the minds of minors. Agreeing, reader Hung Nguyen affirmed that TikTok can help users earn money and gain fame, but this should not come at the expense of character and morality. "I propose that the authorities strictly control and impose heavy penalties to eliminate harmful content," he said.
The "Most Useless University Degrees in Vietnam" trend on TikTok caused a stir in public opinion back in March 2023.
Having created numerous online tutoring sessions on TikTok, Master Bui Van Cong, an online exam preparation teacher, believes students can gain many academic benefits from using this social media platform. "However, everything has two sides," Mr. Cong noted. Accordingly, students abusing the platform for negative purposes such as spreading exam cheating tips, attacking teachers, or following harmful trends are urgent signals that require education administrators to quickly intervene and address the issue.
"It must be emphasized that at the school age, when many students have not yet formed a proper understanding, posting negative videos is sometimes just following a trend without considering the consequences. Therefore, students cannot be blamed entirely; this issue also involves the responsibility of many other parties such as families, teachers, and schools in supervising and educating the students' thinking," the male teacher analyzed.
Mr. Cong suggested that teachers could guide students on how to use social media, such as TikTok, effectively, instead of banning it because "this is impossible." He even suggested that teachers should "venture" into experiencing this social media platform to support their teaching, thereby better understanding their students' psychology. "The government must take strong action in censoring and filtering harmful content on TikTok, and especially needs to quickly put an end to the current situation where many self-proclaimed 'teachers' engage in behaviors that distort the image of the teaching profession," Mr. Cong proposed.
Today (May 15th), TikTok testing begins in Vietnam.
At a press conference on May 5th, Mr. Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Broadcasting and Electronic Information Department (Ministry of Information and Communications), stated that the inspection of TikTok will begin on May 15th and continue until the end of May. The Ministry of Information and Communications has sent official letters to relevant ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Public Security, and the General Department of Taxation (Ministry of Finance)... requesting their participation in the inspection team.
Previously, in April, the Ministry of Information and Communications announced six violations by TikTok in Vietnam. Following this, the Ministry plans to focus its inspection on the algorithm for distributing and recommending content to users; the management of celebrities and performers on TikTok; compliance with laws on child protection; and the prevention and control of social vices in cyberspace.
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