By: Eli Grimes
We all know it and we all, whether we care to admit it, love it. TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social apps we use on a daily basis, largely due to its relatability and its clever “For You” page feature. The app is by all means dangerously entertaining, but how big is TikTok and what impact has it made on pop culture?
TikTok began as Musical.ly and rebranded after being purchased by Bytedance Technology in August of 2018. It has since branded itself as an all-inclusive video-sharing platform and for good reason. You can find virtually any of the content you wish to see from all walks of life and engage yourself with the community associated. Whether it be comedy, gaming, or artists of the future, there is a community tailored “For You.” Your liked videos determine the content you see and every once in a while something new will pop up for you to explore. The app has not only taken the United States, but the entire world by storm.
Another popular and integral feature of TikTok is its Sounds feature. Creators can either choose to use previous sounds from other creators or create their own unique sounds. Popular sounds often lead to trends on the app that become more and more clever the further that the trend progresses. Often, songs from popular artists are used in TikToks that go viral, which creates a major impact on the music industry. It was reported by The Top 100 Billboard that the average song length decreased by 30 seconds from 2018 to 2019. Whether TikTok contributed to this is not definite, but it would be pretty coincidental. Many artists themselves can be found on TikTok as well, such as Jason Derulo. The app is great for mass sharing of video and audio, so it’s no surprise that artists would want to have a strong presence on the platform.
TikTok was, for a time, under strong consideration to be banned from app stores in the United States. However, all of our fears were put at ease and the app remains a part of our daily routines and we can all continue to ugly laugh in private at 2 a.m. Many of us never thought we would recover from our beloved Vine being shut down in 2016, but after a brief stint we were introduced to Musical.ly and what would later become the TikTok we know and love. The app continues its popularity to this day and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon.