Formally known as Musical.ly, an app where people innocently lip-synched to popular tunes, TikTok is steadily growing into a dominant social media platform where users can do more than silly transition videos. Now having one billion users, TikTok has been incorporating updates that make the app more immersive, and consequently, more addictive. As a frequent TikTok user, my For You Page (FYP) has recently been flooded with videos longer than the original 15 seconds, with some pushing to 10 minutes. The ability to post longer content has allowed TikTok to open a gateway where television shows and movies can be watched, or rather pirated, on the platform. For example, I have seen the entirety of Hotel Transylvania and episodes of Dance Moms simply scrolling through my FYP. This variety of content has become such a frequent presence on my FYP that if I search for television shows in the search bar, I know they’ll appear. TikTok is becoming more than a goofy dancing app, as it is slowly and creepily heading in the direction of streaming, but why?
The competition between traditional streaming services and the Internet has been an extensive rivalry, as the introduction of YouTube in 2006 provided ordinary consumers the opportunity to become content creators themselves. With other social media platforms using YouTube’s revolutionary and foundational concept, people are now able to make and watch content they prefer; however, TikTok takes it a step further. Videos on TikTok are instant and continuous, so consumers are promised an endless supply of content. This not only contributes to the app’s addictive nature, but the need to continue scrolling becomes more contagious. When it comes to the posting of television clips, they’re shared by the fans themselves, offering something streaming platforms can’t: discourse. For instance, when I stumbled upon an episode of That’s So Raven, I decided to read the comments and found a discussion surrounding Disney Channel’s lack of comedy and charisma in their current shows. Along with the discussions, users can also ask for postings of their favorite moments, which simplifies the viewing experience by allowing consumers to binge the moments they want to watch. With TikTok as a rising competitor, the skip button on my remote is slowly becoming obsolete, as all that’s needed is the click of a hashtag to find a new show or movie.
Even if full-length episodes or films aren’t posted, edit culture has made it so that viewers can have a compilation of their favorite moments, characters, scenes and more. As an avid viewer of The Office, I have encountered various edits ranging from comedic compilations of Dwight Schrute and Michael Scott to heartwarming videos of Jim Halpert and Pam Beesly’s relationship. With each edit accompanied by popular songs, transitions and engaging visuals, I’m able to rewatch and remember moments from the show in a more amusing way. There is no longer the need to skim through episodes on a streaming service or locate the platform they’re being streamed on when there is a multitude of compilations on TikTok. While it has made my viewing experience of media simpler, the instant gratification feeds into my TikTok usage.
The ability to watch content in a bite-sized format has ruined my attention span. This is a common phenomenon. According to Dr. Julie Albright, a sociologist specializing in digital culture, TikTok can provide us instant satisfaction, explaining, “You’ll just be in this pleasurable dopamine state, carried away.” On an average day, it has been recorded that a TikTok user spends 95 minutes on the app, which is more than an average person spends on Instagram and Snapchat combined. With an FYP that uploads an infinite number of videos and a time limit that allows for 10 minutes of content, the time spent on TikTok will continue to rise, as it has already increased by around 210 percent since 2022.
With TikTok continuing to rise in popularity, it may end up eclipsing other streaming and social media platforms completely.
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