Tik Tok Takeover

Tik Tok is a new form of social media has taken over the masses with a huge demographic being contributed by young kids and teens. The platform was created by a software engineer by the name of Zhang Yiming and his net worth is estimated to be around $16.2 billion. The social platform was originally compared to Vine which had a similar concept which is short video format based content. Vine was founded by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll in June 2012. The company was acquired by Twitter in October 2012 for a reported $30 million but was later reformed as Intermedia Labs. Unfortunately the platform shut down due to poor financial decisions and Tik Tok has since managed to dominate the industry. Many believe that this app will soon rewrite the digital history due to its huge popularity. Much like how many 90’s kids will remember growing up with Disney original movies, boy bands and Tamagotchi, kids born from 2010 onwards will remember Tik Tok for having shaped their childhood. The simplicity of causing havoc on a Club Penguin server is now replaced by kids not acting their own age for the internet to forever immortalize.

Why Tik Tok?

Today we live in a society where everything is constantly moving fast. There is no longer time to appreciate a feature length film or even watch an entire movie in order to make it to the plot twist. We have so much more control over the media to the point that we no longer have to wait for anything. We breeze through a YouTube video at 2x speed or fast forward through a Netflix show so we can get to the best parts of it. The average attention span of a millennial is a whopping 12 seconds—and for Gen Zers, that number is an even more disappointing 8 seconds. This is the reason why Tik Tok has managed to get such a firm footing in the industry.Young people crave micro-entertainment and short bursts of distraction. This is one of the main appeals of TikTok videos as they are fun, short and trendy. 

Notable Tik Tok Features

Tik Tok has managed to create a consistent fan base for the app due to its simplistic nature of recording a video, simple music or voice over integration and easy to use filters. I would consider the app to be built in an idiot proof manner catering to all age groups. There are more advanced features but the general nature of the app was kept simple to allow users to get hooked. The viewing options for the app is also extremely mindless as video just constantly plays in a loop like fashion allowing users to lose track of time as they are not actively searching or clicking for content. The design of the app is quite honestly genius and many future app developers have set it as a benchmark for future creations.

Social Epidemic

The use of Tik Tok is no longer by choice but honestly can be considered by force as a form of social acceptance. Teens and kids around the world now live with the perception that the use of Tik Tok is a determining character trait. There are a wide variety of users on the site, all catering content for their dedicated niche but the biggest group is easily teenage boys and girls who have coined the term E-Boy and E-Girl. This term was due to the sudden spawn of videos such as these

@myamud

it’s eboy day at school 😛😛 ##eboy ##fyp

♬ babygirl I wanna... - madsporter31

This may just be the birth of creative genius with more and more people trying to capitalize the site and one up each other. It has forced the youth to sort of come up with new ways to make their mark on the internet. It can be argued that some of these marks are more like scars but credit should be given where its due to those who truly use this site to spawn creative excellence rather than form a toxic subculture. Tik Tok has been seen to be a form of self expression for many teens that may not have the suitable outlet that allows them to be more free. This app has taken the social media platform by storm and maintaining a daily headline in mainstream media for its new oddities that seem to be spawning by the hour. This app certainly caters towards what most millennials crave which is instant gratification. Before this that title was held by Instagram but its safe to say the app has been dethroned as more people flock to Tik Tok. This form of gratification is something that many people crave for and its a a sort of drug for little kids. Most people get a hit of cocaine and can never turn back but kids get the sense of self importance and are unable to detach themselves from that feeling having the constant need to maintain their social presence.

Leaving Reality Behind

It can be said that we are on a fine line when it comes to living in reality and living through our phones. Many people only live through social media but forget to live in real life. They do everything for the soul purpose of having an interesting live stream or creating a relatable post. It is less common to actually enjoy life for the sake of it these days as most people rather prove a point to their followers. Social media was created to document memories rather than create memories through it. If more people start to do things for the sake of their social presence, all meaning of life will soon be lost. Simplistic things will no longer spark joy as they will be seen as mundane and only insane parties can satisfy our cravings for a well lived life. This sort of dick measuring contest that is becoming more and more popularized on the internet will only lead to demise and poor character building. Even grown adults struggle with social media addiction, imagine the effect of this social pandemic on children who are only now learning to develop their social skills. Only time will tell the outcome of this hostile takeover and how this app alongside many others will shape the next generation.