Associate Professor Dr Padma Pillai Featured on Buletin TV3: TikTok NPC Trend

Department of Communication Head, Associate Professor Dr Padma Priya Pillai was recently featured on Buletin TV3, where she discussed the topic, “Bizarre TikTok trend - ‘NPC’ Craze: Unique entertainment or degrading hustle”. The NPC trend is a trend on TikTok where users stream live videos of them acting like non-playable characters (NPCs). NPCs are known for repeating the same lines over and over, often in a robotic way. Some of these TikTok users receive gifts or monetary donations for their livestreams. During the segment, Dr Padma talked about factors contributing to the NPC trend’s popularity, including technology culture and the need for social interaction. Livestreams offer a means of connection between the creator and audience. However, everything users interact with can have negative repercussions on their personal and professional lives due to a lasting digital footprint. You can watch the video at the link below, and the segment on the NPC trend starts at the 13:48 timestamp.