Now, let’s admit it…you have a Tik Tok account. You probably make videos. And even if you don’t make content, then you probably spend an absurd amount of time scrolling through videos. I know I do.
It’s insane to hear that Tik Tok has become such a phenomenon around the world, especially among children ranging from elementary school to college.
To tell a little about my experience and beginning with the app, I was sitting in my room with a couple of friends, and we thought it would be funny to download the app. Slowly, all three of us started to spend more and more time with the app. Thinking about it, I have become so engaged and drawn to using the app, which includes making content, watching it, and sending Tik Toks to my friends and family. To give you an idea of how many Tik Toks I’ve watched, it is around 127 million within the year I have had it. You can check this amount by going to your privacy settings in the app and scrolling down to where it says “clear cache.” That number is the amount that you have viewed over your time using the app.
Most people, in my opinion, are addicted and there are so many jokes about it. When you think about it, why do you think Tik Tok is so popular?
- It Allows Everyone to be a Creator.
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One of the aspects about Tik Tok is that everyone has a chance to create their own content. It has a sense of creativity and individuality, which is essential for this generation of social media users. There are endless possibilites of what can be created, as long as Tik Tok deems it to be abiding by their guidelines.
- It Makes an Impression on Our Short Attention Spans.
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In today’s society, most people have very short attention spans. This can be caused by many things, such as technology, brain chemistry, and poor health habits. Tik Tok has the option to have 15 to 60 second videos, which fits into our small range of attention skills. According to a Microsoft study done in 2018, the average attention span of a human is about eight seconds. This video time on the app is perfect to engage people enough to get invested to scroll and spend more time on the app.
When a person sees something that catches their eye on the app, the impression is to keep scrolling because the chemicals in their brains are signaling enjoyment. Enjoyment will automatically be associated with the action of viewing those videos.
- There is a Variety of Content Available.
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Tik Tok is essentially great for everyone that uses it. In the beginning of downloading the app, there are questions as to what appeals to you, whether it is sports, music, comedy, or anything else. It is all available to view on Tik Tok.
Also, the app tracks what you like and what you view over time to display things that will cost you to spend more time scrolling through the videos. This is a very sneaky, but clever tactic because Tik Tok is revealing content that will get you engaged, which is automatically be more intriguing and will cause more enjoyment to you as I discussed with the short attention span fulfillment.
- The Idea of Getting Famous
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You too can be like a celebrity with the use of Tik Tok, provided that you post content that people like and can relate to. In today’s world, people are obsessed with the idea of getting famous and gaining attention. For the most part, it makes them feel good because there is a feeling of validation.
Meanwhile, others in high school and college start to feel that if they get that attention on Tik Tok and start to get noticed on other forms of social media, then they can make a living off of something that causes them enjoyment. An idea sparks in their heads that they could then stop going to school and make a living off of what they do on social media. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather do something that I would enjoy, such as singing, for a job than working full time.
I hope this provided insight on what makes Tik Tok so popular and addicting. For those of you that use the app, I definitely recommend going to see how many videos you have viewed, because that may change your opinion of how you use social media.