By Chloe Colligan

Since it is the beginning of the year, I thought it was necessary to discuss the app which is recently getting many high schoolers through the day, Tik Tok. I have sat in numerous classes hearing girls from ranges of grades and friend groups discussing these quick 30 second videos which can be found through this app. Thus, it is somewhat a uniting factor, anyone can participate and become “Tik Tok famous” which is where the majority of the hype lies. This app was created by a Chinese company and was first launched in the United States in 2017. About a year later, it became the most downloaded app. It is very similar to vine, an app which was big in my middle school days but is no longer available. They both feature short videos of comedy routines or lip-syncing along with choreographed dance routines. This is the reason it is so popular because it allows kids to experiment with different talents that they may not access in any other parts of their life. For example, my sister has always loved dancing but never took lessons or really went beyond just the fun aspect of it, but when Tik Tok arouse she had an outlet. Now, she can dance and make routines for a purpose but not because she was forced to time-commitments rather just for fun. That’s the beauty of this app, it is just for fun. Yes, there are people determined to design a career off of being Tik Tok famous by gaining a following which they can then use on other social media apps to make money, but this is rare and really not the purpose. The purpose is to make people laugh and even spread awareness about issues such as climate change or the “no vape campaign” because it provides an outlet to reach young people where they will actually listen. Overall, I actually think that TikTok is a really beneficial space which creates its own community, eliminating exclusivity or the need to look perfect as with Instagram or snapchat.