Can I write about pop culture for a serious essay?

[Dina]

I really want to write my sociology paper about how TikTok trends spread and what they say about our culture. But when I mentioned this to my friend, she said "that's not a real topic — you need something academic." Now I'm second-guessing everything.

A writing guide from USC says that popular culture is absolutely a valid subject for academic inquiry — but the key is your approach . You're not just describing a TikTok trend; you're analyzing what it reveals about society, identity, power structures, etc.

The guide suggests framing pop culture topics through theoretical lenses:

• "How do TikTok dance trends reflect changing ideas about gender performance?"
• "What do viral challenges reveal about collective behavior in digital spaces?"
• "How do algorithms shape which trends spread and which don't?"

See the difference? It's not "here's a TikTok trend." It's "here's what this trend MEANS and what it tells us about society."

Another approach is to "use pop culture as evidence for broader claims" . If you're arguing that Gen Z has a different relationship with privacy than previous generations, TikTok content could be part of your evidence.

A CUNY professor says: "The best topics often come from the intersection of your personal interests and academic questions" . So if you love TikTok, don't abandon that — figure out what ACADEMIC questions TikTok can help you explore.

For my sociology paper, I'm thinking: "How do viral dance challenges on TikTok reflect and shape collective identity among Gen Z users?" It's about TikTok, but it's also about identity formation, community, and digital culture — all real sociological concepts.

Has anyone else written about pop culture for a serious paper? How did you make it work? Did you get pushback from professors? I need to know this is possible before I commit.

 

[Kirk]

Dina, I wrote about Instagram influencers for my cultural anthropology paper. My advisor initially raised an eyebrow but then helped me frame it around "digital labor and self-branding in late capitalism." That's the move. You're not writing about TikTok. You're writing about something academics already care about (identity, algorithms, collective behavior) and using TikTok as the case study. Your friend is wrong. Pop culture topics make for some of the most interesting papers when done well.