TikTok during 2020
Introduction
During 2020, the world was overcome by the storm that was coronavirus. Others were like myself in the sense that I had all this free time on my hands, and I often struggled with what do with all the time. At first, I thought I could spend time with my family while quarantining with them, but after the first month, I found myself struggling to be around them twenty-four seven.
One of my favorite things I found myself turning to for entertainment was car rides. This could be at any time of the day, and I would just cruise while listening to my radio. The only thing that suffered was my bank account from all the gas I was burning through! While listening to the radio one morning I heard some individuals talking about an app that was growing rapidly like Renesmee from the Twilight series, and it was called TikTok. Later that evening when I returned home from my drive, I walked into my living room to find my younger siblings laughing while filming themselves performing a silly dance. Little did I know how this app would affect so many of our lives in various ways.
What seemed like a simple idea that Zhang Yiming, the creator of TikTok, maybe once had has now erupted into an app that is filled with different dances, story times, makeup tutorials, pranks, and so much more. With so much content to offer and so much time on our hands, it is no surprise that people turned to this app for entertainment. Furthermore, the “sense of humor can often emerge during times of crisis as a welcome release, enabling us to connect with others to reduce feelings of stress” (Nahai 100). People’s creative sides surely came out during this time with all the new dances, for example, that were created and emulated by millions of people.
I am going to go over the most popular TikTok dances from 2020 (otherwise known as the worst year ever) below.
Bored in a House
This first trend can be referred to as the anthem of quarantine, and it is referred to as “Bored in a House”. Curtis Roach is the mastermind behind this surprisingly catchy jam, and he released it in early March. When I personally reflect on my time during the early stages of the pandemic, I often think of this tune. It was something that we were all able to relate to at the time, with all this new freedom while we were stuck in our homes.
Teenagers buying alcohol
During my time of research to write this article is the first time I have ever heard of our second trend. Some teenagers took it upon themselves to dress up like elderly people to go into a state store to buy some booze. Gone are the days of asking your older sibling or friend to be cool and buy you some alcohol- just throw on some makeup, a wig, and some vintage clothing and you are set! Of course, underage drinking is not something I or anyone should condone, so there are not many (if any) videos out there since they show illegal activity. This should not have ever been done, but it is one of the biggest trends to have occurred during 2020, so it had to be noted.
What I eat in a day
The last trend I will be talking about is what I eat in a day videos. One can find these all over YouTube, but if the viewer wanted a shorter video, they could then turn to TikTok. During quarantine, some individuals were wanting to improve their wellness, so they were seeking out new ideas of what to eat; this is where these videos would come in handy. However, some videos showing disordered eating were uploaded, and they became controversial as some claimed they were glorifying the condition by showing it all over the internet. Regardless, these videos were another large hit, so they were worth mentioning in this article.
Conclusion
Those were three of the biggest trends to hit TikTok in 2020. I tried to highlight three different themes or topics of videos shown on the app (song, challenge/prank, and vlog style). Whether you are fan of the app or not, there is no denying that it took the world over by storm and it had an effect on us as a whole.