For years, Parker McMullen Bushman wasn鈥檛 comfortable referring to herself as an outdoorsy person. It sounds silly, she says, having spent years working as an educator and environmental justice advocate. Still, Bushman was hesitant to publicly claim the title.

鈥淭hat term was something I associated with white folks听who were fit and skinny and rich enough to get the right gear,鈥澨鼴ushman says. 鈥淢y own outdoor activities didn鈥檛 seem as valid, because I didn鈥檛 see representation for people who looked like me doing the things that I did.鈥�

Today, her personal definition of an 鈥渙utdoorsy鈥� person is anyone who spends time outside, gardening, picnicking, hiking, or playing basketball at a local park. It doesn鈥檛听matter if a person lives in the Bronx or rural Arkansas; most people are outdoorsy.听And part of Bushman鈥檚 mission on TikTok has been to challenge the听overarching stereotype that has inhibited her鈥攁nd countless others鈥攆rom fully embracing and feeling comfortable in the great outdoors.

Bushman was introduced to TikTok by听her niece听early on in the pandemic. Like most users, she started off dancing. Those videos didn鈥檛 take off, she jokes, but that hasn鈥檛 stopped her from . Under the moniker Kween Werk, which stands for 鈥渒eep widening environmental engagement narratives,鈥澨鼴ushman provides commentary on social justice and accessibility issues within the outdoor space and beyond. Her signature look, even during her most strenuous hikes, consists of a colorful headscarf, a bold lip, and statement glasses.

Anyone can spontaneously go viral on TikTok, an aspect of the app that benefits creators like Bushman, who doesn鈥檛 put much thought into curating her visual brand. She is among a crop of TikTok content creators who are passionate about the outdoors and听have brought quarantined audiences closer to nature in the past year. Her 听is a mishmash of clips鈥攃ommentary on social justice issues, scenic footage from recent hikes, and updates on her family life鈥攚hich exist in stark contrast to the crisp, high-quality landscape photos that dominate the world of outdoor Instagram. 鈥淢y aesthetic on Instagram is crap,鈥� Bushman says, 鈥渟o TikTok is the best medium for me.鈥� In this way, TikTok offers a seemingly more authentic approach to the outdoors鈥攐ne that is more suitable for consumption and education than the veneered world of a photograph.

For every TikTok account that exclusively posts dreamy, surrealistic landscapes鈥攁nd there are some;听the app is not devoid of these videos鈥攖here are many more people like Bushman: folks who enjoy the outdoors;听, , or . While TikTok鈥檚 curated For You feed, the algorithm-dominated home page that showcases the platform鈥檚 best content, is a mix of footage from both pros and amateurs,听TikTok users听tend听to favor unedited, spur-of-the-moment content.

鈥淭he joke is that TikTok hates hard work,鈥澨齭ays Becky Michelle Wood, a freelance blogger who is documenting her journey across the United States听in on TikTok. 鈥淪ometimes I spend a lot of time creating a narrative and filming, but there have been instances when a video of me talking to the camera in my van does really well. The unpredictability and authenticity are fun.鈥�

In that garnered 14,000 likes, for example, Wood explains how her Subaru was randomly recognized by one of her , who used her car鈥檚 setup as inspiration to build his own sleeping platform inside his vehicle. It鈥檚 a casual, low-effort video that almost feels like a FaceTime video between Wood and the viewer.

Overall, there is less pressure to capture the perfect shot on TikTok as compared to Instagram听or to frame an experience as a highlight reel. An outdoor creator鈥檚 TikTok feed, according to Wood, is more reflective of a journey or their relationship with nature, rather than a singular moment of achievement. She has found that posting on TikTok often requires less of a setup than for Instagram or YouTube, thus allowing her more time to dwell in the present and enjoy the scenery.

In May, Wood posted a of a baby mountain goat following her around for three days during a hike in Washington. She stitched together a five-second video clip of the goat and two up-close photos to the song 鈥淣ever Forget You鈥� by the Noisettes. 鈥淪ometimes, you only need a short clip, so filming something doesn鈥檛 really take away from the experience,鈥澨齏ood says.

But听for all its praise, TikTok is not immune from the criticisms that have plagued Instagram. On its surface, these apps appear to be a social good: they bring together people with similar interests and broaden users鈥� horizons by introducing them to new places and cultures. But virality comes at a cost, especially when looking at public lands and conservation efforts. can drive unprecedented foot traffic to lesser-known places, transforming these once-obscure destinations into must-see attractions. And they鈥檙e听marketed as such鈥攂y the local government or, more often, the tourism companies that capitalize on the social media frenzy.

These scenic places are, to put it bluntly, turned into commodities. As my coworker听at听Vox,听Rebecca Jennings, , it appears to matter little to visitors if they actually enjoy the experience of seeing these natural sites or care about the ethics of the trip. What matters, in the Instagram era, is the photos. (Still, others have pushed back against this mentality, saying that it could lead to gatekeeping or deterring听newcomers听from the outdoors.)

Instagram accounts like and have successfully fostered a general awareness about posting etiquette among members of the public and influencers. And while TikTok鈥檚 geotagging is less sophisticated than Instagram鈥檚,听Wood is concerned about the uptick in 鈥渘ature porn鈥�听on the platform, which features aspirational travel shots that are usually sponsored by outdoor companies or brands.

鈥淚鈥檓 a little worried about TikTok becoming more like Instagram as more traditional influencers move over, and so the content might feel less relatable,鈥� she says. 鈥淩ight now, it feels like there鈥檚 room for smaller creators, who are eager to show people the realities of their lifestyle.鈥�

Still, as content creators, Bushman and Wood鈥攔egardless of their intention鈥攈ave to abide by the rules of the attention economy. Their individual success is measured through the likes, follows, shares, and comments they generate.听They still have to post frequently to maintain relevance and cultivate an audience, and they usually become siloed into one of TikTok鈥檚 many algorithmic subcultures. For outdoor TikTokers, that includes environmental education, foraging, birding, hunting, hiking, and van life.

Keith Paluso falls into the educational niche, although he doesn鈥檛 really consider himself a teacher. In recent months, Paluso has accumulated more than 50,000 followers by posting various videos of himself birding听in Tennessee. A self-described 鈥渄iehard naturalist鈥澨齛nd on-and-off park ranger, Paluso鈥檚听most popular videos are 鈥渂irding breaks鈥澨齠ilmed in the field. He begins his videos with a friendly whisper, 鈥淗ey, it鈥檚 Ranger Keith,鈥澨齛s the chirps of various birds echo in the background.

Paluso believes his experience on TikTok has affected his outlook and career in environmental education. 鈥淚鈥檝e worked in mostly rural areas, poverty-stricken places, so I鈥檓 used to, you know, doing tours and only being able to take several people who can go on a hike,鈥澨齢e says. 鈥淪ocial media has really opened my eyes to accessibility issues听and the challenges people face that you might not have realized from the beginning.鈥�

A few months ago, Paluso began adding captions to his videos to make them reader-friendly, as part of his goal to serve viewers with disabilities. There鈥檚 a calm, meditative quality to his feed, which he thinks 鈥渁llows people to briefly relax from the existential dread that everyone鈥檚 had for the past year.鈥澨齀t鈥檚 also a way for him to bring mindfulness into his content, in addition to 鈥済ently hammering in outdoor ethics,鈥澨齦ike encouraging followers to .

Paluso鈥檚 videos are a soothing alternative to the adrenaline-packed, adventurous content propagated by the most successful outdoor influencers听who are also landscape photographers or vloggers. Their full-time job is to travel to coveted destinations鈥攗sually with the help of corporate sponsorships and advertisers鈥攁nd market the travel experience to their followers. While such content is beginning to trickle into TikTok, many outdoor creators still hold down 鈥渢raditional鈥� careers.听And it鈥檚 unlikely that the platform will allow advertisements to disrupt the magic of its curated For You feed, which keeps viewers on the app. The shift in content might be gradual, but for now, anything that resonates with viewers still has a chance of going viral.

Keith Doubman听is well-acquainted with this sudden virality鈥攕ince posting his first video in May last year, he has garnered more than 200,000 TikTok followers听by听posting snippets of his 4,680-mile walk across the United States to raise money for cancer research. Doubman鈥檚 journey was grueling and grimy, but he maintained a peppy tone throughout his walk from Delaware to California. His videos typically began selfie-style, with an enthusiastic 鈥淕ood morning, TikTok family,鈥� Doubman stretching out the greeting鈥檚 syllables before revealing the day鈥檚 landscape. On the , Doubman听trudged through a sand path in California: 鈥淚 feel so dirty right now because I haven鈥檛 showered in like five, six days,鈥� he told viewers.

Doubman isn鈥檛 a professional videographer, and while听he bought a small drone for the journey, his TikTok videos were generally short and unedited, unlike travel content popular on Instagram or YouTube. Yet, his infectious personality and willingness to show viewers the path less traveled helped him build a sizable audience who donated to support his cause. Doubman鈥檚 success was a personal surprise. He worked two jobs to save up for the trek and had only two goals when he embarked on the journey: to raise $50,000 for cancer research听and to finish the walk, both of which he accomplished.听He continues to upload footage and photos from his past walks onto TikTok.

鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy to think that I have supporters and followers who care about me making content,鈥澨鼶oubman says. With his goal complete, he鈥檚 envisioning a new way to travel:听鈥淲ith the pandemic, I鈥檝e been seeing more people changing their vans into campers, working online remotely, traveling everywhere. I would love to do that in the long term.鈥�

It鈥檚 a Nomadland-esque vision that was鈥攁nd still is鈥攐ut of reach for many, including Doubman himself. Nature itself isn鈥檛 exclusive, but social media has reinforced an inaccurate image of the outdoors and who enjoys it. TikTok briefly changed that image听by elevating unfiltered, 鈥渞eal鈥澨齝ontent from regular users, like Wood鈥檚 confessional van videos and Paluso鈥檚 birding Q&As. It allows creators to more freely establish their own personas on the app, without needing to cater to a specific audience.

Bushman intentionally defies the impulse to box herself up as a certain type of creator. She doesn鈥檛 believe in sticking solely to one niche. That鈥檚 her philosophy as an environmental and social justice advocate; everything is connected, and it鈥檚 not enough to advocate for one thing. Issues surrounding racial oppression, according to Bushman, should be tied in with conversations about sustainability and access to green space. 鈥淢y favorite comments are that I鈥檝e inspired someone to go out and hike,鈥澨齭he says. 鈥淲hen I was a kid, I didn鈥檛 have that in my life. I don鈥檛 want any other kid or person to feel that way. I want them to understand that these spaces are for them that they can claim as their own. They have every right. They deserve clean air. They deserve clean water.鈥�

Ultimately, connecting with and caring about nature shouldn鈥檛 require a person to leave their immediate city or state. It can even occur through a screen. Scrolling on TikTok is an immersive experience that some creators have used to help viewers feel closer to the outdoors. And so far, the space has stayed real, remaining generally void of the corporate advertisements seen across Instagram. Expertise is applauded, and a person鈥檚 relatability is rewarded. Together, these creators establish an ecosystem of knowledge, bringing a diversity of experiences that showcase the reality of being in nature鈥攐n the internet.

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