"I'm in the House Bored": TikTok's Sonic Mediation of Boredom and Class in the Pandemic Home

Citation

Avdeeff M (2026) "I'm in the House Bored": TikTok's Sonic Mediation of Boredom and Class in the Pandemic Home. Popular Music and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2026.2623737

Abstract
This article explores the #Boredinthehouse TikTok trend as sonic and visual mediation of domestic boredom during COVID-19 lockdowns. Employing Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis, it examines how the viral sound facilitated collective expressions of boredom while exposing socioeconomic disparities through performative depictions of domestic life. Analyzing more than 4000 TikTok comments, this research focuses on how features like pools and mansions became symbols of class visibility. The findings highlight how TikTok’s music ecologies and platform conventions shaped affective responses, framing boredom as a digitally mediated critique of privilege, productivity, and domestic normality.

Keywords
TikTok; domesticity; boredom; wealth; Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis

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