The Isle of Wight Youth Council made its TikTok debut

The Isle of Wight Youth Council held its first meeting of 2024, where the vice chair announced its TikTok debut.

As it restarted its Instagram account in October 2023, the IW Youth Council believed it was ready to introduce another social media platform. 

Uploading its first video on Saturday, December 30, it consisted of vice chair (Lianne Ponferrada)  sharing the opportunities the IW Youth Council has offered, encouraging young people to join.

They recognised the popularity TikTok videos could achieve as the video recommended teenagers in various counties to consider joining their local youth councils. 

Watch the first upload by clicking here  

Outreach was minimal, receiving merely 113 views and two comments, yet the response was positive.

Sherine Yarf-Abbasi, a newer member and the organiser of the TikTok account, commented: “So real!” applauding the relatability of the content. 

Chair, Benson Hardy, although not an avid TikTok user, still eagerly featured in a video and encouraged an article to be written on the matter expressing: “Tiktok is an excellent platform to engage young people in the work of the IW Youth Council.” Statistics align with this statement, as the 2023 Youth Trust Census recorded that 70% of young people used TikTok.

Watch the TikTok featuring the chair and vice chair of the IW Youth Council by clicking here

The IW Youth Council agreed, as their recent content has used TikTok trends to reinforce the causes they advocate for, including transport and youth voice.

Recently, their videos have increased in popularity, with a clip featuring their chair gaining over 600 views and a video accrediting youth voice reaching 927 views. 

Follow @iwyouthcouncil to keep updated on their endeavours.  

Article by Lianne Ponferrada, member of the County Press Young Reporter Scheme.

Lianne is a student at Christ the King College.