What do you mean by “Hood” Prom? : Joyful Narratives Shown Through The Eyes of Black Teens on TikTok

African American teens make up a large demographic on social media platforms - more specifically TikTok. Prior research in HCI and social computing indicates that social media can play a large role in contemporary teen identity formation through both self-expression and self-perception. We build on this research as well as Black girlhood studies by exploring the identity-relevant and culturally-relevant experiences Black teens have through a digital ethnography of TikTok. We study this through the lens of Black prom culture, a historical African American tradition, seen through the #HoodProm and #BlackProm hashtags. We collected and analyzed 219 TikTok videos, observing how Black teens showcase joyful narratives and culturally preserve African American culture on the internet.