[论文解读] "My Brother Is a School Principal, Earns About $80,000 Per Year... But When the Kids See Me, 'Wow, Uncle, You Have 1500 Followers on TikTok!'": A Study of Blind TikTokers' Alternative Professional Development Experiences

Yao Lyu, Tawanna R. Dillahunt+2 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Jan 16, 2026

Child Development and Digital Technology被引用 0

一句话总结

论文研究60位视觉障碍的TikTok用户（BlindTokers）如何在TikTok上追求专业发展，揭示一种融合学习、社交与变现的替代性、更加包容的途径。

ABSTRACT

One's profession is an essential part of modern life. Traditionally, professional development has been criticized for excluding people with disabilities. People with visual impairments, for example, face disproportionately low employment rates, highlighting persistent gaps in professional opportunities. Recently, there has been growing research on social media platforms as spaces for more equitable career development approaches. In this paper, we present an interview study on the professional development experiences of 60 people with visual impairments on TikTok (also known as "BlindTokers"). We report BlindTokers' goals, strategies, and challenges, supported by detailed examples and in-depth analysis. Based on the findings, we identify that BlindTokers' practices reveal an alternative professional development approach that is more flexible, inclusive, personalized, and diversified than traditional models. Our study also extends professional development research by foregrounding emerging digital skills and proposing design implications to foster more equitable and inclusive professional opportunities.

研究动机与目标

• 在TikTok上考察BlindTokers的职业发展目标。
• 识别BlindTokers在平台上追求职业成长所采用的策略。
• 探讨BlindTokers在利用TikTok进行专业提升时面临的挑战。

提出的方法

• 通过雪球抽样确定的60名BlindTokers进行半结构化访谈。
• 采用主题分析提炼与职业发展相关的目标、策略与挑战。
• 以在TikTok上盲人用户为对象的更广泛研究为背景的反思性、IRB批准的民族志方法。

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 RQ1：BlindTokers在TikTok上的主要职业目标是什么？
• RQ2 RQ2：BlindTokers为了实现这些目标使用了哪些策略？
• RQ3 RQ3：BlindTokers在TikTok的职业发展中遇到哪些挑战？

主要发现

• BlindTokers在传统与非传统职业路径上并行发展，将职业发展扩展到机构环境之外。
• 策略包括变现内容、打磨技能、社交网络以构建机会。
• 两大挑战——技术可访问性与社会ableism——显著阻碍在该平台上的职业化。
• 研究记录了一种强调可访问性工作、算法素养、倡导与情感劳动的替代PD方法。
• 参与者的经历展示了多元化的收入来源与更个性化、灵活的职业发展。