How the app embraces the culture of the new decade.
If you didn’t at least try to get famous on social platforms in the last 10 years, you probably still own a flip phone.
Justin Bieber and The Weeknd were discovered through YouTube, Shawn Mendes from Vine, Halsey from SoundCloud, Colbie Caillat from Myspace and the list goes on.
If you watched the Super Bowl commercials this year, you probably saw American rapper Montero Lamar Hill, known as Lil Nas X. He’s the one who dance-battled Sam Elliott in the Doritos commercial to his hit song Old Town Road. Its catchy lyrics, “Yeah, I’m gonna take my horse to the old town road, I’m gonna ride ’til I can’t no more,” is what made him an international sensation.
Today, you can find his song almost anywhere you look, but it originated in a new and unusual place – TikTok.
Lil Nas X first uploaded his song creation on the smartphone app in February 2019, sparking a comedy-skit trend in which users make a quick transformation into cowboys, just in time for the song’s drop.
The song instantly exploded into the real world, and within two months it reached the number one spot on The Hot 100 Billboard Chart.
TikTok launched Lil Nas X’s career as an artist, but the app acts as many things to different people. It’s the place where nonchalantly pouring a jug of milk on the floor, lip-syncing karaoke, dance battles, displaying artwork and pretty much anything imaginable has become an easy way to fame.
TikTok, the short-form video app formerly known as Musical.ly, was acquired by Chinese company ByteDance in November 2017. It since has taken full control of the social media world, even surpassing the top-ranking social apps such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat in several monthly downloads. In November 2019, TikTok reached 1.5 billion downloads across the App Store and Google Play, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates.
Business of Apps states that the average ‘TikToker’ spends 45 minutes per day watching videos or creating them.
It’s easy to understand why the app is so alluring – it mirrors the current culture. TikTok’s growing influence is now blazing full force into the 20’s with everything this generation craves: convenience, competition, music, fun and business opportunities.
A couple of years ago, a study by Microsoft showed that Gen Z’ers have shorter attention spans than a goldfish, eight seconds.
Jennie O’Hagan, professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in social media and media literacy, said people know that if they can catch viewers’ attention within the first few seconds, they tend to stay longer. Basically, if people aren’t intrigued right away, it’s a firm swipe up to one of the other billions of videos in line. It’s similar to the dating app Tinder, where if there’s no instant attraction to the way someone looks, it’s a swipe left to see the next profile. O’ Hagan added that it’s easy for anyone to shoot a 15-second video.
Users can become ‘TikTok famous’ in a 15-second clip; however, savvy users can connect multiple clips for up to 60 seconds in attempt to hold viewers’ attention and gain loyal followers.
The app features a variety of ever-changing filters and effects to intrigue viewers, including reversing the video, slow motion effect and a split screen to sync up against other videos. With the increase of users, people seem to be doing whatever it takes to get on the trending ‘For You Page’, where current videos are going viral. The stunts are getting more dangerous, the stories are getting more personal and the dance moves are becoming sexier than ever.
In today’s ever-changing and fast-paced culture, users have to compete with one another to stay relevant.
“Competitions are a fun way for people to get involved without having their own ideas,” O’Hagan said. This is how the trends blow up. One person will take a video of themselves dancing, pranking their parents, etc., and then someone else will post a video doing the same dance routine or prank on their own parents, hoping for a better response. Today’s culture is all about being bigger, better, faster and stronger. TikTok is where competition flourishes all in one place, and then continues onto other social platforms. Many TikTok videos are shared on Twitter and Instagram where people will add their own diverse viewpoints along the way.
O’Hagan said competitions can also be fun for people to do together, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 quarantine. She said she has personally noticed an increase of kids doing TikToks with their parents. “It’s fun to see,” she said.
The music is also another way people connect on TikTok. Most video clips are paired with a trending song, monologue or beat. TikTok always has, and most likely always will be centered around music.
O’Hagan said “Music is unifying.” She said it can also act as a healing presence during these stay-at-home times. She gave the examples of John Legend performing a free concert in his living room, and people creating their own TikToks to alleviate stress.
Journalist and University of Southern California Professor, Dan Birman, said music can be powerful if it resonates with the listeners.
“How people respond to music is very personal,” Birman said. Listening to music is a very different experience than reading an article or watching a silent video. Birman said it doesn’t require the same type of work for viewers to understand the story. Music is an opportunity to use less effort – sign this generation up!
Today, more than ever, people are searching for new and trendy ways to get paid. More often than not in scrolling through TikTok, A-list celebrities like Will Smith or Reese Witherspoon will appear. What better way to stay relevant and engaged with fans than to create content on the same social app?
Although TikTok acts as a good business opportunity for celebrities, it also gives non-celebrities a platform. Kelly Sinko is a 22-year-old from New Jersey who took her teeth retainer-making-skills to TikTok. She now has over 27,000 followers who are interested in watching her create miniature works of art. She has been known to apply sparkles or pictures to the retainers, including one of Gary the Snail from SpongeBob. She said when she first downloaded the app, she loved seeing other people’s art and decided to start posting her own videos.
“I wanted to show that not all retainers are ugly and boring,” she said. “The more outlandish the retainer is, the more attention it gets.”
Since TikTok is a way to share short engaging stories, many news companies see this as an opportunity to share their content on the platform. Some news stations share short clips of their daily newscasts, while others try to increase viewership by participating in the latest trends.
Audience Engagement Editor at the Los Angeles Times, Adriana Lacy, said she is always in discussions about which platforms can best reach potential readers. Several of these discussions have been on whether or not the company should start posting on TikTok. Lacy finds social platforms extremely important because they are the starting point in which many stories are read.
“You can make stories more digestible to your audience and deliver news in more creative ways,” she said. If TikTok continues to have a steady increase of users, the Los Angeles Times might not have a choice but to join in.
O’Hagan said “TikTok is not going anywhere.” If anything, she believes the 2020 quarantine will increase TikTok’s use exponentially.
Some might think TikTok could just be another platform that will soon be forgotten when the next best thing comes around. Or does it offer something that the other apps do not? A free range to produce whatever content comes to mind is not always acceptable on other platforms. On TikTok, users are encouraged to be their full selves, and if that means doing backflips, making quarantine videos or dressing up like a cowboy, then so be it. It’s 2020, right?