Donât get me wrong, I too once had my doubts about the infamous app, TikTok. I assumed that it was filled with the likes of personalities comparable to Jacob Sartorious – lip-syncing the top 40 songs of the week. The constant ads I got before viewing the content I actually wanted to see didnât help either. For the life of me, I could not understand the hype surrounding this app. I believed it to be intended for those younger than myself and continually wrote it off hoping that the craze surrounding it would be short-lived.
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My life changed the day my sister insisted on showing me some âfunny TikToksâ from her feed. I shrugged her off because watching one would kind of be like going against everything I stood for. After some back and forth, I gave in; and as you mightâve guessed I experienced a major heart change in those ten minutes. I have no shame in saying it was some of the funniest content I had seen since the days of Vine, the popular and since-deleted video-sharing app.
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I wondered why I hadnât allowed myself to explore what TikTok had to offer earlier. Stubbornness? The bitterness I felt at the dissolution of Vine? To TikTokâs credit, it took guts to follow such a beloved app. In concept, it borrowed heavily from its predecessor: users were able to create short videos that could be viewed by anyone. It also didnât help that Vine set a high bar for comedy online, elevating the sense of humor of millennials and some gen zâs and becoming so apart of the culture to the extent that high schools held Vine-themed days during spirit week, and compilations of the appâs old videos could always be found on the âtrendingâ page of YouTube. But just because Zac Efron and Ryan Gosling donât look the same, does not mean they arenât both incredibly good looking. Iâve found that the same goes for comparing TikTok and Vine. While it might have started out as an outlet for 13-year-old boys to make a mockery of themselves with a Shawn Mendes song in the background, it has since become an incredibly relatable platform and delightful way to waste time.
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I know Iâm not the only one excited to see TikTok-ers using the app ironically or to joke about their own love life, school day, or pop-culture much like Vine used to do. Yes, a big part of my TikTok conversion has been because it reminds me of what once was. Â But unique to the app is the inclusivity of its community. On Vine, there were a handful of very popular accounts, and those usersâ videos were the ones guaranteed to be on the explore page. I loathed having to scroll past users King Bach, Cameron Dallas, and Brent Rivera to get to the good stuff. Â In contrast, TikTok grants exposure to individuals who have smaller followings. In my own experience, Iâve seen things on TikTok I never wouldâve thought to look up, such as accounts dedicated to lip-syncing country music or ASMR videos. While this isnât necessarily the content I would curate for myself, it canât be said that the app is selective in what it features, or that users wonât be able to find something suited to their taste. And honestly, the country lip-syncs are starting to grow on me.
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At the end of the day, this app is a great way to kill time. Whether youâre mindlessly watching whatâs on your feed, or youâve gone full TikTok and youâre filming yourself doing the choreography to one of the âchallengeâ videos thatâs sure to surface, youâll find that itâs a procrastination tool like no other. In fact, I missed class entirely due to a TikTok binge last week. As someone who once detested even the mention of the app, I can honestly say that itâs worth the download. Not only can I assure you that all the familiarity of Vine and then some is present, but the content you never knew you needed in your life is sure to be found too if you just give it a chance.
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