TikTok's Popularity and How It Differs From Other Social Media Platforms
TikTok has risen in popularity above all other social media platforms, how far does its influence reach?
Over the last few years, TikTok rose in popularity above all other social media platforms and has reached the staggering number of 1.5 billion registered users so far.
To get a measure of how big TikTok truly is, it is currently the number one social media app on all platforms, rivaling media giants such as Netflix, Youtube, and Facebook in a comparatively short period of time. The company has proceeded to open offices in the U.S., Europe, South East Asia, China, and many more, staffing over 20.000 people.
As many may know, TikTok is a video-sharing app that is used for various creative purposes, from lip-syncing and dance videos to comedy sketches and inspirational videos. The app uses an A.I. which determines what content you would be interested in and later exposes you to it. The TikTok experience is highly controlled, therefore, one is only exposed to content that is chosen by the algorithm.
Moreover, the app's videos may be limited to a 15 second time period, however, its influence on society (especially on Gen-Z) does not seem to have a limit. The app has launched careers and made many people quite rich, simply by sharing short videos. Nonetheless, some of the content found on the app could be considered educational, from people sharing recipes to others sharing useful information, however, one might question the value of most of the content posted to this app in terms of longevity. As entertaining as it might be, the short period nature of the videos can have a long term impact on one's focus and attention span
To sum up, TikTok provides easily digestible content which entertains for fleeting moments and then moves on to the next thing, and whether it is through posting content or simply sharing and reacting to it, it made many people very rich, to the point where being a "TikToker" has become an occupation. It is the technological equivalent of fast fashion, and even though it may seem harmless, the hold it has on an entire generation of youth could be cause for concern.