Ever since the time-stopping re-release of TikTok in 2020, the lives of teens and tweens alike have changed permanently. Although known by boomers and our parents as a “children’s dancing app,” TikTok has transcended time ever since its genesis. People have used the app to write musicals about Netflix soaps and rats who can cook, to make vlogs with their twin babies, and even romanticize the mundane: a trip to Starbucks with a new order each time.
They’ve extrapolated the app even further. There are no limits within the TikTok atmosphere. Pranks are pulled, jokes are made, and laughs are had. What I find particularly compelling about this app is that quotes from popular videos have become ingrained within my vocabulary and within my conversations. I become provoked to respond simply by phrases that are found within the TikTok vortex rather than from my own head.
Because of its relevance and incapability to go out of style, these sounds have become a part of the teen vernacular. For example, my new favorite: “Bing Bong, What Do You Want To Tell Joe Byron?” has taken over my life. This sound has become the nation’s sensation over this past week and has dominated vocabularies ever since. Partially due to its novelty but partially because of its incredible content, this audio might as well be a new page in the dictionary. This audio is taken from a video interview of a few characters from Coney Island, NY. These locals, sharing their most organic self with the videographer, have become the internet’s newest stars. The Bing Bong is a tribute to New York’s subway sound that rings every time the train doors open and close. This sound has become my shadow: it’s there when I sleep, as I stroll around Times Square, and as I daydream in Statistics.
This week’s other trending sound: “Stormi, You Look Like Mommy Sweetheart” has also taken hold of my vocabulary. I use it as a meme and as a general response when people talk to me. A sound bit, taken from Kylie Jenner talking to her daughter Stormi, has captivated the attention of users to create their own personal renditions but with universal experiences.
Whether it be a Coney Island local’s impression of the subway, Kylie Jenner talking to her daughter, or a regular citizen’s vine-like phrase, TikTok sounds are becoming the new vernacular. They are well versed, well known, and well distributed. It can’t be stopped now, so might as well embrace what will one day be referenced in historical texts about the TikTok crazed teens. Say what you want, I will unfortunately be saying exactly what TikTok tells me to say, influenced by the trending sounds of the week.