Written by: Natalie Hutcherson
TikTok is recorded as the fastest growing social media app on the market. The app has been around for awhile, but it recently became more popular in 2018 when viral successes from other (now defunct) video platforms Vine and Musical.ly shut down in recent years. Now teenagers everywhere are entertaining themselves and each other by creating their own video content in the hopes of catching the wave of social media fame. By exploring just how TikTok came about, perhaps we can understand how it captures the attention of teens across America and how long it will last.
Owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, TikTok is a social network where users create and upload a variety of video-based content. Videos range from comedy to lip syncing, to viral challenges, some of which emerged specifically from famous TikTok users.
Before TikTok, the trending video app was Vine. Then, there were born Vine Stars. These Vine stars made their money and fame through comedic videos and later social media partnership.s When Vine died in 2016, these stars turned to Musical.ly to continue their fame and social media careers. TikTok was also launched in 2016 under the Chinese name Douyin. As the app spread beyond China, Douyin’s name changed to TikTok. ByteDance continued to purchase Musical.ly, gaining another popular video app. Eventually, TikTok began to steal the show, and ByteDance got rid of Musical.ly. This is when TikTok began to blow up the Internet.
Loren Gray was one of the first people to become famous through her use of TikTok. She currently has 39.4 million followers on the app. The story of Loren Gray repeated itself as more TikTok videos gained popularity. As regular users like Loren gain viewers on TikTok, their followers begin to overflow to their other social media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, etc.). The more content they create, the more their fan base grows and becomes invested in their social media content and personal lives.
Typically, influencers make their salary from paid partnerships and personal branding/advertising. These methods are most common via Instagram, but TikTok has advertising purposes as well. Often, if a famous user makes a TikTok video to a song no one has heard, this song will be used for more and more TikToks, ultimately boosting the song’s and artist’s fame. If a famous user wears certain clothing or does their makeup a certain way, followers may message them via another app to find out how they can also use the same products as the TikTok star.
Aside from advertising and fame, TikTok has started multiple trends and viral challenges. TikTok videos formed new dance moves, including the dance to “Get the Gat,” that the LSU football team posted from the White House after winning the NCAA College Football Championships this year. Even fashion trends have not been able to avoid the TikTok influence. When the song “Old Town Road '' was popularly used to make TikToks, not only did the song gain fame, but its lyrics about cowboy hats and Wranglers seemed to influence men and women’s fashion back to their country roots. Multiple viral challenges have emerged, sending users into a frenzy to create their own original TikToks. To name a few:
the Haribo Challenge - arranging hundreds of gummy bears as a crowd while Adele’s “Someone Like You” is blared in the background;
Fake Travel Challenge - using everyday objects and pictures to mimic travel pictures in a comedic way;
Raindrop Challenge - adding visual effects that mimic pouring rain and stopping the rain in sync with musical beats.
TikTok influences many current trends, and continues to create rising social media stars. The app continues to gain momentum and popularity as a form of social media. However, just as Musical.ly and Vine are a thing of the past, TikTok could only be a rung on the ladder to the next best social media craze.
SOURCES:
https://www.hercampus.com/culture/popular-tiktok-trends-college
https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us
