Imagine this: you wake up one lazy morning during the summer of 2020. The summer heat has got you down, and you are bored out of mind. In an attempt to cure that boredom, you get on your phone in search of something to occupy your time. Then, with no luck, you get on TikTok. You scroll and scroll through the countless videos for what seem like mere minutes, but when you reluctantly get off the app, hours have passed. What is it about this social phenomenon that is so addicting? 

TikTok is a video sharing social network that launched in the US in 2018. People who used apps such as Musical.ly and Vine are already familiar with the way Tiktok works. The app allows users to make and create short videos for people to see and like. The types of videos people make are limitless. There are fun dances, funny comedy, tips and tricks, daily vlogs, and so much more. The creativity on the app is unmatched since users create new content daily. Its fan base has grown to a shocking 700 million users during 2020, and that number continues to climb. 

Part of what makes TikTok so enjoyable is the trends. TikTok trends are based on what is popular, what videos get the most likes, and what videos are the most exciting at the moment. People then try to copy and recreate the videos while adding some of their own, personal flair. Tiktok trends change all the time. Certain things were popular in the past, like VSCO girls and Eboys, but now they aren’t so relevant. At the moment, everyone is obsessed with Draco Malfoy and Willy Wonka. This is just another example of Tiktok’s creativity and uniqueness. 

Charlie Williams is a freshman at Heritage Highschool who knows all too well about making a trendy Tiktok. Last year one of his videos went viral with 21 thousand likes. When Tiktok first came out, Charlie was unsure about downloading the app. “At first everyone hated it, because it was cringey,” he said, “but then it started being used more creatively, and people began to get on the wave.” When Charlie goes to make a TikTok, he thinks about the latest trends and what everybody else is doing. “ Then I go off and make it mine.” When Charlie’s Tiktok started getting a lot of likes, he was shocked. “It took me by surprise. It’s not like I became famous or anything close to that, but it was neat,” he said.

Besides being just a platform for sharing videos, Tiktok has also led virtual protests. Many Tiktokers sabotaged President Trump’s rally earlier this year, for instance. They spread the word through the app and got a bunch of people to reserve tickets and then not show up. Fewer than 5,000 people actually showed up although the campaign was expecting record numbers. The arena had around 20,000 seats; less than half were filled. This brought a lot of attention to the app and the powerful potential it held. Relatedly, people also use it to spread awareness about things happening in the world now. If there is a new news story, you can bet that it will show up on the app within the hour. 

TikTok is a fun and creative place where people can share ideas and come together. It is a community made up of users from all over. You never know what to expect when you get on the app and I think that sense of unpredictability is what makes TikTok so appealing. You could scroll for hours and never come across the same video twice.  From its crazy trends to its social dominance, Tiktok is an app that has a little something for everybody.