TikTok ‘dogshows’ and the amplification of online incivility among Gen Z influencers in the Philippines
Open accessAbstract
Studies on digital platforms and online incivility have established that uses of humour can lean towards cyberbullying and hate speech. Focusing on TikTok's affordances and cultures of online incivility, this paper studies how TikTok influencers and their audiences manoeuvre legal-but-harmful humour. Specifically, we study how online incivility has become an accepted and negotiated practice in the Filipino context through the phenomenon of ‘dogshows’, where users throw jabs at individuals using derogatory humour and provocative memes. Through online observation and textual analysis of TikTok posts and their corresponding comment sections, we demonstrate how online incivility is subtly amplified through humour and play, and how Gen Z and young children became both objects and producers of these dogshows. We argue that while there is already peer surveillance at work on TikTok, there needs to be more deliberation between TikTok's policies and at-risk groups to make the platform a more civil space.
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Commentators engage in peer surveillance to caution against continuous dogshow comments.
“In turn, commentators would engage in peer surveillance to caution against continuous dogshow comments (Cabbuag and Abidin 2025).”
From Entrepreneurial Selves, Emotions, and Algorithmic Creativity Among Young Content Creators in the Philippines (2026) · cites this paper as Cabbuag and Abidin 2025
Creators experienced difficulties when their content was flagged as a violation of the platforms' community guidelines, even when it is practiced within communities and subcultures.
“Creators also experienced difficulties when their content was flagged as a violation of the platforms' community guidelines, even when it is practiced within communities and subcultures (Cabbuag and Abidin 2025).”
From Entrepreneurial Selves, Emotions, and Algorithmic Creativity Among Young Content Creators in the Philippines (2026) · cites this paper as Cabbuag and Abidin 2025
Some seemingly harmful comments are considered acceptable within the dogshow practice where one is tagged as the 'dog' to receive 'humorous' comments.
“While some of the seemingly harmful comments is considered acceptable within the dogshow practice where one is tagged as the 'dog' to receive 'humorous' comments (Cabbuag and Abidin 2025)”
From Entrepreneurial Selves, Emotions, and Algorithmic Creativity Among Young Content Creators in the Philippines (2026) · cites this paper as Cabbuag and Abidin 2025
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Sorted by citations
Cabbuag, S. I. (2026) · Journal of Applied Youth Studies · doi:10.1007/s43151-026-00215-3
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- Authors
- Cabbuag, S. I., & Abidin, C.
- Affiliations
- Hong Kong Baptist University (HK)
- Curtin University (AU)
- Venue
- International Journal of Cultural Studies
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2024-12-05
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 947-965
- ISSN
- 1367-8779 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-356X
- OpenAlex
- W4405122584
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Cultural Studies (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- Funders
- Australian Research Council (Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE1901007)
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Humor Studies and Applications
- Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
- Keywords
- online incivility, TikTok, humour, cyberbullying, hate speech, Filipino youth, memes, platform moderation, Philippines
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