How Has TikTok Changed Social Media?

Social media. Something that we use every day and the most well-known nowadays is TikTok. Over the past few years, the app has developed new ways to appeal to its audience, making it the most high-performing app. Does this mean that it beats the other apps?

TikTok over the years 

TikTok started out as Musical.ly, where people lip-synced their favorite songs on repeat. With some development and changes, TikTok is now the most downloaded app as of 2021. Some say it’s an addiction; others say it’s a toxic space. Maybe so, but perhaps those are just one-sided views.

Some people think that TikTok is just another place to dance around or it’s just Musical.ly rewired. Still, over the years, TikTok has become a diverse place to interact with others but, most importantly, for creators to share what they’re passionate about. You do get the odd new dance again, but you also get BookTok – a place where bookworms can see what they can read during the summer! StudyTok – a platform that advises students on study tips they could. Even videos about mental health are used to encourage both adults and teenagers alike to have more confidence in themselves and feel happier and refreshed.

TikTok has continued to change our system, with a staggering 23.8 million users on the app each month. But when we look at how it’s developed from just a platform for silly dances to songs to a diverse platform that has both fun and an educational purpose, is it really bad to be addicted to TikTok?

Instagram over the years

Instagram has significantly more people on its site, with 2.35 billion users as of this year, but ironically, it doesn’t have the same content that it used to. Even now, TikToks are making an appearance on people’s Instagram, videos they had already pre-made. Instead of having long videos as we used to or even an Instagram reel, it’s just small clips briefly describing what’s happening in the situation.

While it still has a similar purpose of being a safe space for people to talk in the comment section and for the growth of social influencers, it doesn’t stop the constant cycle of comparison for other teens or even just an ongoing addiction. It’s a similar result of even TikTok, where we try to reach everyone’s expectations on social media. This can lead to damaging effects on our mental health. TikTok is full of videos for us to view, but the real question is: Is it more intimidating to see a photo of a celebrity rather than a video? Instagram portrays the message of perfection and trying to reach people’s expectations. Something we try to avoid but gets the better of us.

YouTube over TikTok

All before TikTok and even Instagram, there was YouTube. YouTube was and still is a place for people to vlog their lives and even open up to their insecurities. Much like the other social media, it has many diverse sectors for different audiences to enjoy. The only problem is that so many people would demand a certain video rather than the one that the creator wants to do. Now, even YouTubers may appear on Tiktok – easy to edit and less demand for the fans. However, others may describe TikTok as less engaging regarding the revenue and what topic they would want to discuss. It affects the videos that they may produce or even what the fans may expect from their videos.

More often now, these creators rarely ever refer to their other social media platforms like Instagram for people to follow. This shows the demand for YouTube to stay rather than be avoided entirely.

Facebook over TikTok

Even though it may not be the platforms in question, the situation can also make us wonder about Facebook. Facebook has come to be the most used social media, with over 3 billion people using the app daily. However, unlike the other platforms, it doesn’t receive the same recognition. One of the main reasons is that these new systems have replaced it. Well, in this case, just TikTok! Social media is becoming more diverse, and as a society, we would want things to be quicker and easier for us to handle. This might be why scrolling on TikTok is easier than watching a 3-hour Youtube video or uploading 20 photos onto your Facebook.

What Does This Mean For Us?

Social media is changing. Is it better or worse? It’s something that we’re still debating. In this case, the growth of TikTok doesn’t mean the end of Instagram. It just means the growth of new platforms to branch out to. No social media is perfect. Viewers and creators still experiment with different platforms, but that doesn’t mean that we can look past the others!