The Rise of TikTok and Its Effects in the Social Media World

Sydney Tappan, Staff Writer

“I find myself spending more time on TikTok than any other social media platform,” said Nicole Flora, a junior at Assumption College. “It has impacted me in different ways: whether that be learning a new dance trend or finding a new outfit inspiration.” Flora not only shares videos with her friends, but also creates them in her free time.

For those of you that do not know, TikTok is a social media platform designed for creating, discovering and sharing short videos made by other users. After the downfall of Vine and Musical.ly, TikTok has since rose to replace the apps with its recognizable humor and videos. If you recall, Musical.ly was rebranded as TikTok in 2018. Since its launch for iOS and Android, it has acclaimed 1.5 billion users and downloads. TikTok’s mission is to “inspire creativity and bring joy,” which is exactly what it has been doing for users across the world.

Targeted for Gen Z and Millennial generations, it has had a major impact on the way people share and create content. Two-thirds of the users are under 30, therefor it aims towards affecting younger generations. Video creators have an ample amount of tools when it comes to making a video, such as: filters, music or sounds, voice overs, as well as hashtags. Hashtags exist on TikTok for specific trends on the app as a way to promote a challenge, joke or repeating format. The app promotes different challenges and dances using hashtags that encourage the creation of more videos. The purpose being to gain likes, followers and to be featured on the app’s “For You Page.”

It is assisting in the ever-changing environment of social media by allowing users to post whatever they want, within certain guidelines. Something that someone may be too self-conscious to post on Instagram, is free to post it on TikTok. Regardless of having a TikTok account or not, its videos still have a way of infiltrating other apps such as Instagram, Twitter

and Facebook. The app has the ability to promote not only people but also music, making someone famous off of one video or one song.

“TikTok has made me realize that everyone’s different, even a little weird,” said Tori Borruso, also a junior at Assumption College. “TikTok is a place that widely accepts that and makes being weird okay.” Borruso also remarks that TikTok is becoming a lifestyle; it is no longer something only done in free time, but something to do all the time.

TikTok’s algorithm shows you what it thinks you want to see and assists in also telling you what you should post. If one specific video trend becomes popular enough, not only do see the same type of video with the same sound repeatedly, you also feel compelled to hop on the bandwagon and make on yourself. Though widely used through the United States, it has also been known to connect not only people from different states and countries, but different continents. Someone living in Massachusetts, for example, has the ability to watch a video that someone posted from Australia, simply by scrolling through the app.

From a personal standpoint, I find myself spending an absurd amount of time on TikTok, something I am unfortunately not afraid to admit to. Though I am not avid on creating videos, I can still understand why many do. It is an atmospheric app that allows people to post and create what they want, when they want, regardless of how weird it may be because odds are there is someone posting something even weirder. Though sometimes cringey, you cannot deny it is also trendy and, dare I say, hilarious.