Seema Sangra
It was in early 2018. I was conducting a session for the final year students of media studies when I mentioned TikTok. The entire class buzzed with surprise at the mention of the app. None of the students ever thought I could be following TikTok.
Instagram and Snapchat being reputable platforms were worth following, but TikTok — in their view — lacked ‘class’. But that widespread perception of the time did not last long.
Today, as I write, TikTok is predicted to surpass 1.5 billion users in 2022!
The earlier avatar of the app, Musically, was launched in Shanghai in 2014, and later bought by Douyin. It was eventually rebranded as TikTok. There has been no looking back ever since.
Blake Chandlee (President, Global Business Solutions at TikTok) gives credit to the variety of content created by its users for the meteoric growth of TikTok over the past few years, and specifically in 2020 when people started working and studying primarily from home.
In one of the interviews, he mentions, “Younger generations were introducing their parents and grandparents to the platform. So there was this unity again around the family around this content that just didn’t exist before.”
I personally feel that another factor that made TikTok take a giant leap was humour. In stressed societies, humour can play a positive role and help develop resilience. Different researches prove that humour appeals to us in times of hardship and crisis.
The humorous graffiti of gladiators on barrack walls before going to their deaths is well documented. Other than looking at humour from a theoretical standpoint, scientists have also studied humour as a social skill. And TikTok has used this aspect quite successfully.
With music at the heart of the TikTok experience, enthusiastic users are given new video editing features to engage in cyberspace creatively. People who were not provided with any space to showcase their talent on mainstream media outlets suddenly had a platform providing them with the scope to access large community/audiences, easy-to-use editing tools, and access to a large selection of songs and audio tracks.
There are now new features like Green Screen, one-tap video enhancements, new sound effects, and the option to create longer videos. The platform has also collaborated with GIPHY, and users can now select from a library of GIFs to apply as their background when using the Green Screen creative effect.
In addition, state-of-the-art music synthesis tools can help people make any sound or voice sound like an animal or musical instrument from their videos. Audiovisual storytelling is not just an expert’s job anymore!
Fast-forward to 2022, TikTok is an undisputed social media giant, re-establishing its influence on the social media space. Whereas looking at the reports about other platforms, most reports suggest that Instagram usage is in decline among younger audiences.
On the other hand, TikTok has emerged as a meeting place for the under-25 generation, a target group that social media platforms are eyeing for their sustainable growth. The different social media platforms are making everything possible to stop the easy slip of users’ share towards their archrival TikTok, which is growing despite bans and legal challenges.
Facebook was the first to cash in on the banning of TikTok in India and the US, which were two of TikTok’s most significant markets. The upward journey of TikTok is not about the new features and longer videos, but also how it has changed all other social media platforms and forced its key rivals to replicate TikTok.
Today, the different versions of TikTok-style storytelling on REELs @ Instagram and Facebook, YouTube and other such platforms are more focused on copying features than creating something new.
If we look at Instagram as an example, it has a TikTok-style vertical feed for Reels, its ‘Add Yours Sticker’ is almost like TikTok’s duet feature. Similarly, TikTok’s remix option and new text-to-speech and voice effect options in Reels show how much Instagram is becoming a replica of TikTok.
In addition, Instagram’s ‘audio’ highlights the various tracks available for use within the app. If you tap on any track, you’ll see a TikTok-like display of the Reels that have utilised samples of that song.
Others are trying to ape TikTok. Cheez, Chingari, LIKE, KWAI, Funimate, Firework and many such apps are now mushrooming in cyberspace. Some of them are even offering rewards to their users. Others have incorporated challenges and battle options. In India, ‘Chingari’ has emerged as one of the best alternatives. In other markets, alternatives are coming up. Oculus’s success in the US indicates a growing trend for metaverses and immersive experiences.
Roblox and Twitch’s popularity in certain markets emphasises the consumer demand for metaverses, social gaming, and user-generated content. However, among all others, it is interesting that TikTok was the most downloaded app globally on Christmas Day 2021.
TikTok is a story that does not have drama and fiction like other startups, but it is indeed a story that changed the game for the major players. Until we have another dimension, social media is about the trends that TikTok has set.
(The author, who was previously a resident of Muscat, is the Program Leader for the Media Studies Department of Amity University, Dubai Campus. She is also pursuing her PhD studies in New Media and Non-Profits)
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