Believe it or not, TikTok has been around since 2012 - *shocked face* - and was designed and founded by Chinese games designer Zhang Yiming and was launched in 2017 outside of China. The platform is a video-sharing social network, designed to share comedy, dancing and other short talent videos.
In the recent months, it has became a new craze, taking over other social media platforms by what seems like miles! Many brands are being informed on how TikTok works, and have been using it as a place to promote their products through Adverts that we see what we open the TikTok App (or perhaps between videos if we’ve been scrolling for a couple of hours) and Sponsored videos made by ‘influencers’ and ‘certified’ TikTok creators.
The New York Times also claims that TikTok will take over the world of social media, even if we try and avoid it.
The New York Times also claims that TikTok will take over the world of social media, even if we try and avoid it. But why is this? Alongside this new way of promoting and selling products, TikTok has become rather entertaining during this time of isolation. I can guarantee that even if you haven’t watched, or made, TikToks, you have one of the following in your head:
…Therefore, one impact of TikTok is that everyone constantly has these lyrics in their head!
This impacts their audience as they have another way to engage with their favourite content creators!
While the ‘average’ person is impacted by TikTok through the catchy lyrics, the impact that TikTok is having on an ‘influencer’ is rather different. Well known YouTube faces, including Joe Sugg and his girlfriend, Strictly Star Dianne Buswell, have used the TikTok platform to encage with their audience in a different way. Joe was commonly known for his prank videos on his ex-roommate, Casper Lee, and more recently his girlfriend and the pair have used TikTok to create more of these prank videos on one another, as well as showing off the rehearsals for their new show. This impacts their audience as they have another way to engage with their favourite content creators!
Similar to other forms of social media, TikTok has created a fast growing fan base of differing generations, who either watch or make the TikTok videos, impacting them in many different ways.
Featured image: Kon Karampelas on Unsplash
