I will be the first to admit that when I first heard of the app Tik Tok I was a bit skeptical to download. I had heard so many rumors about the app from it being a way for the Chinese government to spy on us to the app being addicting and a complete waste of my time. Before being sent home from school in March, I never had Tik Tok. I felt like it was for little kids, as it was linked to the app Musically which I did have in my middle school youth. I was afraid that it would take up too much of my time, and I honestly didn’t feel I needed it. However, once we were sent home and confined to our homes, I decided to cave and download the app. After all, I had an abundance of free time since all my extracurriculars were canceled.
I can say without a doubt that Tik Tok is both extremely addicting and entertaining. Tik Tok is such an intriguing app because the trends change almost instantly. One week I could be looking at the cursed pictures of Robert Pattinson, while the next I could be watching videos with tarot cards, as someone is trying to predict my future through the app. It is so strange, yet so hilarious and entertaining; however, my favorite aspect of Tik Tok would have to be the music.
For those of you who may not know, Tik Tok users can put audios on their videos whether it be a sound bite from a show or part of a song, and use that to enhance their videos. Users whose videos go viral are bringing to the forefront songs that people may have never heard before while also making older songs that have been lost, relevant today. Tik Tok in this way is the new radio.
On September 25, a man named Nathan Apodaca posted a video of him longboarding while drinking a bottle of cran-raspberry juice and listening to the song “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac, a song most popular in 1977. Due to the popularity of Apodaca’s video, which today has over 11 million likes, the song by Fleetwood Mac received over 2.9 million streams in a matter of 3 days, while later reentering the billboard top 100 in October.
Personally, I have always been a Fleetwood Mac fan and this song has always been on my playlists, but it is quite extraordinary to see the impact Tik Tok has on the music tastes of people today. There are so many songs that I have heard through Tik Tok videos that I now consider to be regulars in my Spotify queue. I can say without a doubt that I would most likely have never heard songs such as the British rap song “Gentleman” or the famous song “Lottery” (renegade as it is better known) without the Tik Tok app. While this controversial app does have its downsides with its negative comments and overhyping of teenage celebrities, it has revolutionized the way in which we discover and share music today.
