Digital Participation and the Sociomaterial Effects of TikTok in a Municipal Context

In the context of digital participation in the public sector, the challenge of effectively utilizing digital initiatives to increase public engagement has emerged as a key area of research. In this study, we focus on the first municipality in Sweden to establish a TikTok channel, an initiative that seeks to foster a novel form of digital participation, providing young people with a platform to express their voices. Research on digital participation has traditionally explored how people access, use, and are affected by technology. Using a sociomaterial perspective, we explore digital participation and the intertwining of TikTok in everyday work in the municipality. This study contributes to research on the promise and complexity of digital participation, by demonstrating new dimensions through three sociomaterial effects, exposure, disruption, and trade-off. These insights also highlight why digital participation is not a straightforward solution that governments can simply implement without adopting a systemic approach.