As a part of our "Essays" section,
the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
TikTok has been back on the App Store in the U.S. for a few weeks now. American users who still had the app downloaded on their phones could use it less than a day after the ban on Jan. 19, but users who removed the app were finally able to re-download it on Feb. 13. TikTok is here to stay, but why is this such a big deal?
TikTok’s parent app, Musical.ly, was also incredibly popular but not nearly as prominent or as long-lasting. Musical.ly was bought out in 2017 by the Chinese company, ByteDance. It was this business deal that took the platform from being a place to post videos to music to being a full-blown social media platform.
The addition of the direct messaging feature, a “Favorites” folder, video editing tools, longer videos, the option to add text, and the ability to post both photos and photo slides directly expanded the forms of content that could be shared.
Having had TikTok for over half a decade now, I have watched my For You Page (FYP) transform from silly clips and songs to people sharing their art, their playlists, and their lives. The expansion of the platform has made TikTok a staple in popular culture. It is a social phenomenon, a place to see and share in every aspect of life.
In “Get Ready With Me” style videos, I have learned new makeup techniques and breakfast recipes. I have found hundreds of new songs that I would never have discovered otherwise. There are lists of movies to watch, concert footage from the ‘70s, reviews of classic novels, clips of fashion shows from the 2000s, etc.
A feast for a sociologist, my saved folder contains every hobby of mine.
A lot of people perceived the upset over the ban as a mere social media addiction, and while that may be partially true, I think that the outcry had more to do with the fear of losing the unique space that TikTok created online. TikTok’s variety gives it the feel of being Pinterest, Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr all meshed into one.
Scrolling through Pinterest and listening to Spotify is to the modern girl what a Vogue magazine and an iPod were to the 2000s girl — although I still love a good Vogue. Now, there are TikTok slideshows and edits of Pinterest-esque photos with a song to match already in the background.
And unlike Pinterest, the comments on these posts tend to be filled with people forming a community, however parasocial it is. Modern society can be very isolating and lacks a variety of third spaces for people to hang out in a more relaxed environment.
TikTok allows people to expand their music taste, fashion sense, and cultural understanding beyond their city in a way that is unparalleled by other social media apps. TikTok may have its issues: it can be addictive, facilitate the spread of misinformation, and accelerate environmentally costly fast fashion trends, but the loss of the community it created would have been tragic.
Comments