TikTok - The Future?
What even is TikTok?
TikTok, if you have never ever heard of it, is a social media platform that allows users to create, share, and discover short videos. The videos are usually between 15 and 60 seconds long, and can feature a wide variety of content, such as lip-syncing, comedy skits, dance routines, cooking demonstrations, and more.
TikTok has become extremely popular, especially among younger generations, and has been downloaded over 2 billion times worldwide. The app uses artificial intelligence algorithms to personalize content recommendations based on users' viewing history, and also features a range of filters, effects, and music options to enhance video creation.
TikTok was launched in 2016 by the Chinese company ByteDance and has since become a cultural phenomenon, with many of its creators gaining large followings and achieving viral success.
The wildly popular app is mainly recognizable by it’s simplistic logo of a music note
Ok, Now Why is it the Future?
We cannot predict the future, however, we can use evidence and trends to help guide our vision of what the future will look like. And simply put, children are the future. The youth now will be around longer than any previous generation that is currently alive. What the youth are doing now is a sneak peak into the future, and the future is TikTok.
Here’s some facts:
According to TikTok's own statistics, 60% of its U.S. users are aged 16 to 24, indicating that a large portion of its user base is comprised of young people.
In 2020, TikTok was the most popular app among U.S. kids aged 4 to 15, with 52% of kids in this age range using the app, according to a survey by SuperAwesome
In 2021, TikTok was the second most downloaded app worldwide, with over 850 million downloads, according to Sensor Tower.
As of January 2021, TikTok had over 1 billion active users worldwide, according to Hootsuite.
And there’s plenty more…
But why do Kids love TikTok?
A large portion of youth online have short attention spans and want instant gratification, and TikTok is just that.
Start at 5:40 for an in depth explanation of TikTok’s popularity
Bite-Sized Videos, Creative Expression, Social Connection, and more
Bite-sized videos: TikTok videos are short and sweet, usually lasting between 15 and 60 seconds. This makes them easy to consume and perfect for kids who lose focus easily.
Creative expression: TikTok allows kids to express their creativity and individuality through dance, music, comedy, and other forms of content creation. This can be a fun and rewarding way for kids to explore their interests and talents.
Social connection: TikTok is a social media platform that allows kids to connect with friends and other users from around the world. They can like, comment, and share videos, and even collaborate with other users to create content together. They can even participate in viral trends that the mostly recognizable and popular faces on the app participate in.
We Need to Care
With TikTok’s exponential growth, it looks like it is here to stay relevant for the forseeable future in terms of mainstream social media platforms. If it’s not going to go away, we must figure out how to use it, and more importantly how to use it in order to acheive our desired result.
Life as we know it
TikTok has opened up millions of portals into the online world. It is truly endless, and the media is limitless. We have the ability to share a message, connect with a niche group, and freely and artistically explore like we have never seen before. The growth and level of recognition an individual can acheive overnight on TikTok is truly a modern day phenomenon.
TikTok is the future because our future is using it now. The sooner we are aware, the faster we can catch up.
Thank you for reading. :)
REFERENCES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b72HkiH0N4o&t=1s
https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-stats/
https://www.statista.com/topics/6077/tiktok/