“Couch Boy” Tik Tok: the newest, biggest, and most inescapable inside joke of Tik Tok. Nearly every user’s “For You” page has been packed with parodies, explanations, or ‘evidence’ on the viral video. However, this isn’t the first clip to have this effect on the app, and it seems like as each new viral video comes up, everyone has to be involved.
Tiktok as a whole has created a “small world” feel, where teens are connected through the internet inside jokes. Although we have our own unique For You page designed to our interests, I have noticed a pattern where all of my friends typically know what popular Tik Tok video I am talking about. This could be because Tik Tok, unlike other social media apps, has allowed all public users to have similar chances to getting their video put on the For You page. But is this a good thing?
Take ‘couch boy’ for example. A video posted by @laurenzarras on Tik Tok shows her surprising her long distance boyfriend at college. In the video, he is sitting on a couch with three other girls and people have speculated that the girl sitting next to him on the couch was giving back his phone in the video. There have been comments and videos with many different views on the video, including proposing that he is “cheating” and “doesn’t look happy to see her”. Other people are outlining the fact that “he shouldn’t be on a couch full of girls” and have continued to put their own opinions into the couple’s relationship.
As we have seen through the “couch boy” video, lots of bad attention can come rushing towards you after your video becomes viral, whether you like it or not. This could be due to the fact that Gen Z, which represents a large portion of users, can be very vocal. While that outspokenness can be used for good, it can sometimes end up ruining the ‘small world’ aspect. For those who post scrutinized viral videos, it can be hard to feel a part of a community with millions of people throwing their opinions at you and your life. As stated before, Tik Tok users can be very vocal, so once a video has been passed around on Tik Tok, the whole app seems to be invested in someone’s personal life. No matter how many views they have amassed or how ‘famous’ they have become, it is difficult for these users to witness millions of strangers’ opinions surrounding their life.
While the “small world” aspect can be enjoyable for creating a community on Tik Tok, using this to spread hate or negative opinions on someone’s personal life can destroy that ‘community feeling’. The community Tik Tok has created is very special, and in many cases, it has been used for good, such as drawing attention to the Gabby Petitio case. The way to expand the positive impact of Tik Tok is to focus on important issues that need more voices, such as missing person cases, mental health awareness, sexual assault awareness, and so many more. At the end of the day, I think ‘couch boy’ Tik Tok has surfaced enough for us to know that no man should ever come close to a couch again.