TikTok, this year’s number one most downloaded app in the world, offers an online platform where its mass of users can collectively understand and define what it means to be popular today. Though the internet has long been a comedic and social source, the huge number of users on TikTok and the ability for anyone to go viral means online culture is mutating faster than ever. To an extent, it’s necessary to keep up with these changes in order to understand the app’s users and how to relate to them.
Consider TikTok today's Rosetta Stone; it offers insight into the constantly shifting language of internet humor, particularly that of Generation Z which is notorious for its absurd and often nihilistic jokes. The app proves useful in deciphering the conversational vocabulary used by Gen Z. Terms like “gaslight, gatekeep and girlboss” have flooded TikTok, which has satirized them into new meanings.
Much of students’ behavior seen on UO’s campus has likely been heavily influenced by the app’s many trends. Seemingly random outbursts of peers declaring they want waffle fries or breaking into aggressive dance moves requires more than an hours-worth of weekly scrolling to understand.
TikTok has retained over 1 billion users in a virtual petri dish, its subculture growing rapidly, pervasively. It’s less cesspool-ish –– not for lack of waste, but for the often puzzling behavior brought upon outside observers. Those who are not active or avoid the app entirely may find themselves confused, as if they're missing out on inside jokes. For them, there is both good and bad news: They are missing out.
There are several pros to understanding what’s popular on TikTok –– and, by extension, what’s popular amongst the 16-24 year olds that make up 60% of the app’s users in the United States. One is knowing who Doja Cat is and why her songs are playing in every house party and Uber right now. Another lies in marketing; advertising on TikTok has a mass-reach potential unlike any other app right now. With my limited understanding of the ominously secretive TikTok algorithm, I believe that relatively any TikTok has the ability to go viral. Obviously, the ones that cater to the niche Gen Z humor niche stand a higher shot at success. For those in the marketing world, understanding the ins and outs of what makes a Gen Zerlaugh, like and listen is a coveted skill — especially as more and more businesses and celebrities join the app.
Many official school accounts have made their move to TikTok recently. The University of Oregon’s own beloved Ducks football team joined the app this September (@oregonfootball) and has already received over 90 thousand views on one of its posts. It’ll be interesting to see how the account’s media team participates in TikTok’s trends and how that participation is received by viewers.
There’s another, and perhaps more alluring, reward earned by engaging in the ever-changing TikTok culture: fame. TikTok creators like Charli and Dixie D'Amelio boast multi-million dollar net worths and receive invitations to exclusive events once held for top tier celebrities. Whether or not you believe (or care if) these TikTok stars' Met Gala invites were justified, the sheer influence and wealth they’ve obtained through an app is something to marvel at.
TikTok also plays a growing role in the music scene, with artists like three-time Grammy award winner Megan Thee Stallion rising to fame as users danced across the app to her songs. Undeniably, TikTok can change the lives of those who continuously create for and shape the culture that in turn promotes them.
The idea of TikTok implementing real life change is not entirely far-fetched. Leftist rallying chants like “Eat the Rich” are common on TikTok; and, as we saw in Trumpian times, the right has its own catchy outcries (but, you know, racist). Tax reform in America continues to be a debated topic, and I can only hope that the anti-billionaire side of TikTok takes their political activism beyond making jokes and songs about Jeff Bezos online.
Still, the power of any mobile fad is not without its limitations. I’ve written about the media's circle of life before — how one app’s demise simply leads to another’s rebirth (TikTok’s spiritual predecessor Vine can certainly attest to this).
So, while the inevitable end of TikTok may not be in sight yet, only time will tell if this app has lasting power –– the power to truly influence the world for the better. Marketers and influencers were quick to realize its potential. But, for now, the app sits alone on its social media throne, its mass reach and power virtually untapped.
As TikTok teeters between being yet another mobile time-sucker and a platform to create real life change, I debate whether or not to delete the app. I like being in the know, and I do learn about how people — often my age — think and feel. There's a lot to laugh at, but also a lot to relate to. Of course, the app also distracts me from people with real thoughts and feelings in my life. Writing this article alone caught me in several time lapses, as I set out to determine what the current culture growing in the TikTok-world was. After a lot of scrolling, I failed to see the benefits of something that disconnects someone from reality more than it connects them. So, instead, I'll say this: TikTok is a tool better left in the shed, and I hope the dust collects and people forget about it sooner rather than later.
"Opinion" - Google News
September 28, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Opinion: TikTok could be useful (maybe) | Opinion | dailyemerald.com - Oregon Daily Emerald
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