What is TikTok?
A video-sharing platform that allows users to follow trends and use music and editing tricks within the platform. There is a LIVE stream component and the user base is highly engaged. It boasts 800 million active users worldwide and watching it rise to social media contender status has been magical.
Why is it special?
Simply put, there’s more video there. On Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube, there is a good portion of your phone screen covered up by text, ads, updates, and information about what you’re watching. On TikTok, your entire screen is video and the information, text, and branding are all overlaid ontop. This is a key difference because it’s has been the driving factor of all of the unusually high engagement numbers on the app. The algorithm, creators, and the hashtags all have important impacts on the app’s success but without the key video display difference, this would have been a flash in the pan (like most Facebook & Youtube competitors).
before you know it, you’re getting some high-quality content heroine injected through your eyeballs.
Eric Parent, CEO
Next Level
What happens to your brain?
Candy Crush, a mobile game with an estimated worth of 7 Billion dollars, causes your brain to release mini rewards in your brain. Not unlike drug use, actually. Well, TikTok is no different. The extra video on your screen makes the platform extra engaging and releases dopamine in the same way as when you play Candy Crush. The algorithm shows you more videos that are like the ones you’ve engaged within the past and before you know it, you’re getting some high-quality content heroine injected through your eyeballs.
Don’t fear the TikTok
This is not a good reason to never use the platform. Humans have had viable concerns about the way technology affects our brains since depression-era parents thought the radio was warping their kids’ minds. Can’t you just go outside and play? We’d like to quote Benjamin Franklin in saying “Everything in moderation.”
The bottom line is, you’ll never stop the next generation from utilizing the technology at their fingertips. It’s never been easier to get your fix of dopamine and just like with any other drug, prohibition has never worked.
The right answer is to educate and inform our children about the dangers of social media on our brains. It’s not just TikTok warping our minds, it’s Youtube, Facebook, and even the phone itself. Monitoring your time in front of your work computer, on your phone, and staring at the TV is always a good idea no matter what you’re consuming. TikTok isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it’s quite awesome.
@thesmoothbear Company culture is still alive at the office ##keepingbusy
♬ original sound – thesmoothbear
TikTok is Awesome
If you are able to practice strict self-discipline, social media is super fun. TikTok is no different and if anything, it’s more fun. There isn’t much room for bland posts and fortunately, the platform moves so fast that after a while, you really only see videos you’re looking for or are interested in. Most major social media trends have begun on TikTok; the Mannequin Challenge, International Boat Rock Day, and The Fortnite Dance challenge to name a few. The thing about TikTok is that it encourages each user to be a creator. They use their clever hashtag challenges to stimulate creativity and give the user base a creative box to live in. It’s fun, it’s easy, and if you’re not using it you might be missing out.
The bottom line is the platform is growing fast. It is aging up and unlike Snapchat (previously competed with Facebook in the US), it’s main user base isn’t even in the United States. TikTok has an active user base of 800 Million, which they have achieved in under 3 years, compared to Facebook (4years) and Instagram (6years) it’s growth is groundbreakingly fast and difficult to debate. Yes, it’s mostly a young demographic but don’t sleep on it too long. TikTok is aging up every day and if these trends continue it won’t be long before small businesses NEED to be there. Right now, creating content there is easy and organically you might actually see real growth. Don’t sleep on emerging platforms for long, it wasn’t that long ago that Facebook was just for college kids and Snapchat was just for nudes. The world changes fast and if you’re not trying new things, you’re already behind.
