Thread by @NBCNews

When Ilana Beloborodov, 17, was creating her sign for last month's youth-led climate strike in Boston, she knew she wanted to come up with a slogan other teens would understand.
So she turned to the language of TikTok. nbcnews.to/2BalbIN (1/7)

After spending the morning mulling what reference she'd use, she landed on the phrase "e-girl" — a term for the colorful yet goth-inspired teens on the short-form video app.

Her final product read, “The only e-girl that matters is the earth.” nbcnews.to/2BalbIN (2/7)

Beloborodov is one of a number of teens on TikTok who are making funny videos about politics, the environment and current events.

When she posted a video of the strike and her sign to the app, it exploded with more than 187,000 views. nbcnews.to/2BalbIN (3/7)

The popularity of current events on TikTok is apparent by looking at the massive number of views certain hashtags have accrued.

The hashtag “politics” has more than 123M views, and more specific tags like “impeachment” have more than a million views. (4/7)

TikTok is a place where young people can express opinions confidently, TikTok user Jackie Mack, 17, says.

"We know that the community of young people supporting each other is stronger than the insecurity that comes from older generations telling us we are invalid.” (5/7)

Teens who spoke with @NBCNews said injecting levity into heavy subjects allows them to engage with those topics while still making them laugh. nbcnews.to/2BalbIN (6/7)

“I’m a teen and I would like to have fun. And talking about current issues with humor, to an extent, is a way for everything to seem less hopeless,” Mack said. nbcnews.to/2BalbIN

#NBCNewsThreads (7/7)