The Take Over of TikTok
Journee Martin
Journee Martin
If you have not been living under a rock, you might have heard of the new social media craze, TikTok. TikTok, formally known as Musical.ly, is an app where people can create short videos, either to make people laugh, cry, express themselves, and everything else that screams “freedom!” Is this app as good as everyone makes it out to be? What are the consequences of downloading TikTok and why is it so extremely popular?
Although TikTok already popular in foreign countries, the app was launched in the United States in 2018. Since then, it has been downloaded over a billion times. “I say [TikTok is more popular] between like fifth graders, like elementary school students, like your older elementary school students and [also] high schoolers,” says Taryn Fry, a sophomore at Hillgrove High School. TikTok is not just for younger people though. You will often see college students, middle-aged adults, and even grandparents on the app. Along with it being diverse in age, it is extremely binge-worthy and often hard to stop swiping through videos once you start. “[It is] an obsession! Yes! Like I’m watching it at least twice a day like it’s not like I’ve memorized sounds and dances, but [it is] an obsession,” says Fry.
With so many people of various ages and backgrounds, it is not unusual to stop and question whether or not TikTok is safe. “For children it’s dangerous. There’s a whole bunch of stuff on TikTok, so you can get exposed. But I mean, with teenagers it’s fine because it’s mostly teenagers anyway,” says Kiki Day, a senior at Hillgrove High School. TikTok takes its audience’s privacy into consideration and gives a private account option and a private video option, so you can pick and choose who you want to follow you and whether you want your videos to be public or viewed only by you. This app also brings people together and creates a sense of community and family. Day said, “...the people I follow on TikTok, they try to make it more of a community and stuff rather than it being ‘you have this many followers and this many posts.’” TikTok is also beneficial in the way that it promotes new music from upcoming artists. Lil Nas X’s song, Old Town Road,” became popular on TikTok, and by the time it came out on the radio, it was already well known. The newest song that is popular on the app is Kraazy by Likybo.
Middle schoolers are very passionate about this app. “It’s really important to me. It’s just really fun and entertaining,” says Mckenzee Martin, a 6th grader at Lovinggood Middle School. Martin claims that “[she’s] just on it too much,” “learns new dances,” and gives her a safe space to “get in [her] zone.” Many middle schoolers are not aware of the original app, Musical.ly, before it became TikTok. From a 6th grader’s point of view, “I didn’t have Musical.ly, but my sister did and I thought it was like, pretty good. But like, I think TikTok is better because you’re not moving the camera around a lot. It gives me a headache.”
Now you decide: Is TikTok worth all of the hype? Or is it just another app that will die down in a few months?
Although TikTok already popular in foreign countries, the app was launched in the United States in 2018. Since then, it has been downloaded over a billion times. “I say [TikTok is more popular] between like fifth graders, like elementary school students, like your older elementary school students and [also] high schoolers,” says Taryn Fry, a sophomore at Hillgrove High School. TikTok is not just for younger people though. You will often see college students, middle-aged adults, and even grandparents on the app. Along with it being diverse in age, it is extremely binge-worthy and often hard to stop swiping through videos once you start. “[It is] an obsession! Yes! Like I’m watching it at least twice a day like it’s not like I’ve memorized sounds and dances, but [it is] an obsession,” says Fry.
With so many people of various ages and backgrounds, it is not unusual to stop and question whether or not TikTok is safe. “For children it’s dangerous. There’s a whole bunch of stuff on TikTok, so you can get exposed. But I mean, with teenagers it’s fine because it’s mostly teenagers anyway,” says Kiki Day, a senior at Hillgrove High School. TikTok takes its audience’s privacy into consideration and gives a private account option and a private video option, so you can pick and choose who you want to follow you and whether you want your videos to be public or viewed only by you. This app also brings people together and creates a sense of community and family. Day said, “...the people I follow on TikTok, they try to make it more of a community and stuff rather than it being ‘you have this many followers and this many posts.’” TikTok is also beneficial in the way that it promotes new music from upcoming artists. Lil Nas X’s song, Old Town Road,” became popular on TikTok, and by the time it came out on the radio, it was already well known. The newest song that is popular on the app is Kraazy by Likybo.
Middle schoolers are very passionate about this app. “It’s really important to me. It’s just really fun and entertaining,” says Mckenzee Martin, a 6th grader at Lovinggood Middle School. Martin claims that “[she’s] just on it too much,” “learns new dances,” and gives her a safe space to “get in [her] zone.” Many middle schoolers are not aware of the original app, Musical.ly, before it became TikTok. From a 6th grader’s point of view, “I didn’t have Musical.ly, but my sister did and I thought it was like, pretty good. But like, I think TikTok is better because you’re not moving the camera around a lot. It gives me a headache.”
Now you decide: Is TikTok worth all of the hype? Or is it just another app that will die down in a few months?
