Cheetah print, bows and the “renegade” dance are just a few things that TikTok has popularized or repopularized. TikTok has a way of pushing trends out and bringing new ones in quite often. For many, it feels like each week something different is the new craze.
TikTok is a social media app where people can create and share short clips. These videos can be things such as skits, dance videos and just plain lip-syncing. There are over one billion globally active users on TikTok, and 150 million are from the United States.
TikTok started as a platform named Musical.ly in 2014 and then joined forces with TikTok in August of 2018. TikTok didn’t start getting a lot of attention until 2019 when many young people and teens began discovering the platform and creating content with it. Among those teens and young people, names like Charli D’Amelio became popular.
D’Amelio is mostly known for making TikTok dances — short dances to a piece of a song or audio. Music is an important part of advertising, and TikTok made sure to utilize that. The music that known creators would use often became very popular, and a few of the songs would even reach the Billboard charts. It didn’t matter if they were released three years or three days ago; TikTok has a powerful influence over popular music.
The rapidity of TikTok trends coming in and out raises concerns. For many, it feels like as soon as they see a new trend, another one comes along and overtakes the whole app. With every trend, more information is spread. “It’s like the main social media platform. It absolutely spreads it [trends] around. I wouldn’t know about half of it if I didn’t have TikTok,” says an Ida B. Wells High School junior, Lexi Sallos.
TikTok, along with Instagram and YouTube, are the main sources to watch short videos. The popularity of these short videos began with TikTok, causing Instagram to come out with Reels in August of 2020, and YouTube coming out with Shorts in September of 2020.
The remarkable influence and popularity of TikTok has left many searching for the reason behind it. When COVID started in 2020, people were looking for things to keep them busy while stuck at home. These people looked to TikTok, which gave them ideas of what to do and entertained them with short and funny skits.
TikTok is digestible. You can get lots of information out of a 30, 15, or even ten second clip. These quick clips are engaging and stimulating because it does not require long amounts of attention, causing people to watch more and more. This centers our thoughts around social media, causing more and more people to talk about social media, spreading their thoughts on different trends and further popularizing them.
It leaves us to wonder what trends will arise next.
