In the early fall of 2017, two companies merged to create one mega social media service: TikTok. The viral video streaming app has soared to popularity among the world's youth while at the same time giving hell to the American government. Because of the company's origins in China, many in the United States' government believe that the app can be used to track, spy, and censor American voices.
TikTok would eventually buy the American video sharing company Musicl.ly to create a mega worldwide video streaming service. The early innovators saw a void in the market as the popular video sharing app Vine ceased operations in the United States. Today, TikTok has nearly 100 million users in the United States and anticipates on hiring nearly 10,000 American employees by the year 2023.
Rogers' Diffusion of Ideas Theory highlights the very thing we are seeing with the widespread use of TikTok. In 2017, the innovators saw a gap in the market and pounced. Early adopters began appearing throughout the world and by 2018 TikTok had reached an early majority of the world. The late majority would appear in 2018 when TikTok would enter the American market. The laggards are those who will never get the app. That is easy to identify here in the United States. Many of the country's older population refuses to even get smart phones. Laggards are also going to be some of the 74 million loyal followers of former President Donald Trump who spent the last few months of his campaign for president fighting against big tech companies with Chinese ties like TikTok.
In minute long videos, users are able to respond to other users, create original content, and simply identify their creative identities. What makes the app so popular with young people is it allows them to connect with people all over the world. Even in my time scrolling through the apps For You Page (an algorithm to give you tailored media) I have found content from creators all over the world that makes me laugh, think, happy, and sad. It is a whirlwind of emotions.
The early adopters were spread throughout the world before coming to America. TikTok moved into the early majority when the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world and the app soared in popularity. The world haunted and billions of people around the world suddenly found themselves at home with nothing but free time on their hands. While TikTok may have reached its climax point according to Rogers' Diffusion of Ideas, it does not appear that it will be on the downward trend for a long time.
As it begins to move into the late majority stage, it is important to remember that TikTok is still the dominant and most popular app available on both iPhones and Androids. The late adopters are going to be the older generations who, while still not the most tech savvy, are beginning to download the app and become viral. In the fall of 2020, a group of dancing moms who were at the bar and bad at lip syncing took the world by storm. Millions of users worldwide tuned in to their page, followed for more content and made them international stars. They are not outliers, many of the platforms most influential stars are average Joe middle aged people- and their numbers keep growing.
Of course, there are people in the world that will never download or use the app. Those people are the laggards. They are the people who believe that the Chinese will steal their information, that do no have iPhones, or just people who don't want to us the app. Many of the apps current users thought themselves to be laggards saying that they would never download the app- myself included. Eventually many of them came around and downloaded the app. That being said, millions of people around the world still do not have the app and do not intend on keeping the app.
The future of the app, while it appears to be strong, may face other challenges. In late 2020, former US president Donald Trump began to fight the app calling it a spy for the Chinese government. While it does not appear that the app's downfall will be natural, outside forces like the United States government may influence the demise of the app. Like any and all social media apps, TikTok data mines and sells the information to the highest bidder. That is normal and we all know it when we sign up for it. The downsides to this app are the same to every social media app that we all have.
As an avid user of the app, I see the positives outweighing the negatives. For me, this is instant entertainment; a tool for a brief distraction, TikTok offers its users content specifically for them and meant for intermittent use. While I am concerned about the mining of my private information, I have become used to the idea. Yes what they do should be illegal, but it is a contract that we all enter into for almost anything we do. From buying a new cellphone, to logging into Facebook, we sign away our identities at the expense of cheap entertainment. Unfortunately I have been using social media since I was 10 years old (currently 21) and I have already signed my soul away to big tech. So why not sign it away one more time?
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