TikTok has taken the creative world by storm. With the ability to showcase content in anywhere from fifteen to sixty seconds, everyone from Kylie Jenner to Will Smith is a part of this new community. The app, created by ByteDance, used to be known as Musica.ly and merged with TikTok, starting a new era of trends and social media. What is different about TikTok than other platforms is its spontaneity and flexibility. Anyone can set a trend in seconds with a viral video, and then recreations of that video will be flooding your “For You Page.” You do not have to be an established influencer or celebrity to be popular on TikTok, this is generating a new age of creators that I believe to be setting a more diverse image throughout social media. Along with this new wave of creators is a more unique set of content.
TikTok is bringing out so much creativity, art, and awareness into the world. Though it is known as a platform for comedy videos and dance trends, its users have been using the platform as a place to bring awareness to a ton of societal issues such as climate change, rape and sexual harassment, mental health, eating disorders and so many more. Influencing societal issues is not the only triumph that TikTok has accomplished – it has also expanded the music industry. With 1.9 million followers and 75.1 million total likes, TikTok creator Adam Tyler aka @callingallgamers, can attest to the influence of TikTok on the music industry. In a personal interview, he states
“TikTok has impacted the music industry more than any other app or platform has. It is giving people who are starting from the bottom, making music in their bedroom, a platform. For example, mxmtoon, Love Leo, and Lil Nas X who hit number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 all thanks to TikTok. I feel like with the trends and dances going on [the app], people are listening to these songs and want to hear more than the fifteen seconds that they hear on Tik Tok. So, they go and stream the music. If you look on the iTunes charts half of the songs, are songs that were originally used and heard on Tik Tok.”
It is evident that Tik Tok is a new and trend-setting app that is rapidly changing the social scene. It has so much positive influence on the world and will continue to grow and prosper. It may be addicting, but it is definitely worth it.
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