Resepsi Audiens terhadap Konten Storytelling Boombayah pada Tiktok @Octatannn

TikTok storytelling presents personal and relational issues through brief audiovisual narratives that invite diverse interpretations from viewers. This study examines audience reception of the Boombayah episode “Kejanggalan Pacaran Sama Hafidz” published by the TikTok account @octatannn. The research employed a descriptive qualitative approach and Stuart Hall’s encoding-decoding framework. Data were collected through observation of the selected content and comments, structured interviews with five active viewers aged 18–25, and documentation. The data were condensed, categorized into dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional positions, presented thematically, and validated through source and technique triangulation. The findings show that one informant occupied the dominant-hegemonic position by fully accepting the creator’s preferred meaning concerning honesty, communication, manipulation, and the decision to end an unhealthy relationship. Three informants occupied negotiated positions: they accepted the central warning about toxic relationships and digital privacy but questioned the absence of legal consequences, the simplified closing advice, and the one-sided construction of social-media narratives. One informant occupied the oppositional position by rejecting the suitability of publishing the story without an age warning and replacing the creator’s message with a normative emphasis on mature communication and legal accountability. Personal experience and values or beliefs were the two principal factors shaping these positions. The results confirm that TikTok audiences actively interpret, adjust, or reject messages rather than merely receiving them. Creators should therefore provide contextual warnings, acknowledge alternative resolutions, and consider ethical responsibility when presenting sensitive relationship narratives.