As one of the biggest social media platforms in 2022, TikTok has grown more and more each year. But what about its impact on the world?
PEW research center reports that TikTok is the second biggest social media platform for young adults, right behind YouTube. 67 percent of teens on the survey report that they use TikTok, a higher percentage than that Instagram or Snapchat. This would have been seen as somewhat unthinkable a few years back, but TikTok’s growth has certainly not reached its peak yet either. One thing’s for sure though, its impact is being felt on many different levels.
Short-Form Entertainment
The need for a new short-video app replacement has existed ever since Vine was shut down in early 2017. Many compilations of popular Vines were uploaded on YouTube and all the stars from the app jumped over to different platforms, namely YouTube, in order to try and continue their success. With millions upon millions of views on these videos of old Vines, the void left was obvious and people craved more funny, short, and snappy videos to share around and quote.
The Chinese app Musical.ly seemed like the obvious replacement for a while there, but its success only became real once it merged with TikTok in the middle of 2018. That’s when everything took off and it has only grown from there more each year.
Naturally, there were some doubters at first that TikTok would even be worth downloading. However, as more time passes by it’s becoming obvious that if you are the type of person who wants to stay up-to-date with the current trends, downloading TikTok is a must. Fewer people are seeing having an account as something ‘cringe’ and more as something necessary. Especially if you have any sort of music-related business.
Music on TikTok
The number of songs that blow up on TikTok has impacted the music industry to no end. It’s gotten to the point where musicians now make songs specifically with the hope that they’ll blow up on the app. This has drawn much criticism from people who actually enjoy good music and not three seconds of a catchphrase within a song. Nevertheless, the impact is undeniable and very much unstoppable.
There are times when even songs that are decades old will randomly get a huge boost. It helps if there are lyrics within the song that can be applied to many different situations in daily life. There’s not much to think about logically here though, as while at times songs blow up because a famous TikToker makes a video with it, most often songs just blow up without any specific reason. It’s just the luck of the draw.
The Downside of TikTok
Another undeniable thing is the huge waves of criticisms aimed at TikTok that come and go every couple of months. As expected, short-form videos are highly addictive and not easy to put down. Many people have commented on how hours will pass by without them even realizing it when watching TikToks.
There’s also the matter of what type of content is being shown to very young and impressionable kids. There are barely any filters as to what videos will appear next, especially at first when you download the app. In one video there could be a cute dog running around and in the next might be misinformation. The censorship aspect of it all is also very confusing. Some creators will get blocked for no reason while others will get by posting all kinds of disgusting videos without a single ban.
The audience on TikTok heavily skews towards the 16-24 demographic. A lot of people have the misconception that this is an app with only dancing teenagers in it, but the type of content is endless. The algorithm on the for you page (FYP) is scarily accurate too. The concerns over privacy are not exactly without truth to them.
Despite all the concerns parents may have, or what is and is not actually true, TikTok will surely keep growing. People will also keep joining and new viral trends will keep forming because if there’s one thing we all share, it’s FOMO.
Photo: Nattakorn_Maneerat/Shutterstock
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