The Rise of Tik Tok

Within the past year, this new video-sharing app has been giving other apps like Instagram and Snapchat a run for their money. Tik Tok is now the world's most downloaded iPhone app. It features short 15 second videos with your choice of music in the background. For the most part, the content you can find on this app is trendy, comedic, and sometimes interactive. It has taken the internet by storm, with over 1 billion downloads and 500 million active users daily.

Tik Tok first launched in 2016 in China, then eventually made its way to the United States in 2017. Then in 2018 this app merged with a similar app called Musical.ly. After the merger, Tik Tok really began to take off. Before essentially becoming Tik Tok, for the most part Musical.ly had the exact same format. It allowed users to lip-sync songs and have virtual duets with different people from all over the world whether you knew them or not. I think that the merger was so successful because it created a massive video database while combining all existing accounts to form a large community of users.

One thing that differentiates Tik Tok from almost all other social media platforms is the demographics that it reaches. The app is pretty easy to use so it allows users as young as 8 years old to become content creators. This makes lots of sense since it isn't uncommon for children that young to have things like cell phones or iPads. For example, the Tik Tok app gives people tools like filters, control over video speed, and access to professional audio and more all available in one place.

Tik Tok's success with younger audiences reminds me of when Facebook and Snapchat first started. Facebook was originally created for college students only and later gained popularity in other age groups. At one point Snapchat did something similar by focusing their age to one app group then eventually capturing other demographics.

I personally don't know many people who make Tik Toks, but I do know a lot people who have the app. Myself included. Tik Tok was one of those things that people considered "corny" or "stupid" but eventually ended up downloading. The first time I ever saw a Tik Tok was on Instagram because you can upload anything you make on that app to any other app. I believe that this app will only continue to grow and attract more people, even the ones who never had any interest in the app in the first place.

Here's a few funny TikToks :)