The power of TikTok can’t be underestimated— it can make or break someone else’s career. It can influence people’s perceptions on others. It can also lead to the spread of various trends… Whether it be food blogs, dance trends or transition videos, TikTok offers some form of entertainment for people universally. In fact, over it has over 1 billion active users monthly— could we even go as far to say TikTok is becoming the most influential app ever created?

 

What is TikTok?

Although TikTok was created in 2016, the popularity for it, particularly for people within the age bracket of 15-25, grew by over 180% during the pandemic and has retained its popularity since then. But why is it so popular? Unlike other forms of social media like YouTube, TikTok consists of a series of clips, usually no longer than a minute. These videos are both short enough to capture the audience’s attention but also long enough to leave the viewer hungry for more. So, for what feels like watching a few 30 second views, ends up seeing many spend hours on the app…

 

Food trends

Our society’s love for food can be expressed through TikTok. The second an interesting type of food hits your ‘for you page’ naturally, you may be more inclined to want to try it. Therefore, TikTok has become a prime marketing strategy used by many companies. For instance, the British brand ‘Little Moons’ sales boosted by 700% in 2021 all thanks to it being promoted on TikTok. Whether it be passionfruit and mango or Belgian chocolate, viewers had to grab their hands on it. This is partially due to the ‘fear of missing out’ on this growing trend. A small-scale business became global within what felt like a blink of an eye. The obsession with food has continued into 2023 with TikTok ranging from frozen string belts to anything pickled such as kimchi. The biggest question that many viewers may currently be asking themselves— when will they get to try fruit roll ups wrapped in ice cream?

 

Dance Trends on TikTok

TikTok creates a way of expressing yourself and one way in which this is achieved is through dancing. Dance trends saw the rise in fame of names such as Charli D’amelio. Under the influence of Charli, the ‘renegade’ dance spread in popularity in 2019 as everyone tried to grapple with the fast-paced choreography. Since then, she has managed to gain over 100 million followers changing her life completely. At just 18 years old she has a net worth of 20 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, showing the true powers of TikTok. Many dance moves have resurfaced as a result of TikTok trends, ranging in complexity from the ‘reject’ to ‘getting sturdy’ allowing for ‘Generation Z’ (the generation born in late 1990s to 21st century) in particular, to flourish. Whether it be the innovative nature of the dances, the skill sets it brings or, just the coming together of groups of people, the appeal has increase massively due to TikTok influence.   

 

Upcoming musicians

Artists careers have been transformed as a result of TikTok. For instance, RAYE’s career skyrocketed as soon as her song landed on this app. Toward the end of 2022, her song became a number 1 in the UK charts and 47 million streams on Spotify. It is safe to say that through the use of her music in ‘get read with me’ videos, an independent artist has been recognised for their talents which were otherwise hidden from the world. In fact, according to a year 12 student at Chigwell School who is on TikTok herself, Molly Freedman recognises that, "TikTok is incredibly influential, and I feel that a lot of my Spotify playlist is inspired by upcoming music I hear on TikTok". Therefore, suggesting the impact TikTok directly has on promoting music. By users remixing songs, creating sped-up versions or simply by creating a video with that music sound, an artists career continues to grow. The world evolves with its music— TikTok has brought about this change.

Aanya Narbheram Year 12 Chigwell School