Photo Source: TikTok
TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. It is used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos. It allows users to create short videos with music, filters, and some other features. The app was launched in 2017 for iOS and Android for markets outside of China. The founders said that their goal is “to capture and present the world’s creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly from the mobile phone. TikTok enables everyone to be a creator, and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos.”
There are roughly 500 million active users on TikTok. In just the United States alone, there have been 110 million downloads. Worldwide there have been 1.2 billion downloads. The country to have the most active TikTok users is India with roughly 227.6 million downloads. The app is worth roughly 75 billion dollars.
TikTok is considered the world’s fastest-growing social media platform. TikTok has jumped between the #1 and #3 spot for top app downloads around the globe. Most people download this app and it tends to get them “addicted”. The average TikTok user spends 52 minutes of their day on this app.
TikTok is the cause of the fall of Vine. Vine was another platform where users expressed themselves but were limited to 6 seconds. TikTok time ranges from 2-60 seconds. People moved over and used TikTok due to the time range. TikTok also has filters and edits that made former Vine users switch to their platform. TikTok allows you to use your own sound or you could take the sound from a video you want and use it in your own video.
Do people get paid for making TikToks and become “TikTok Famous”? No, people do not get paid for having millions of views or millions of followers. They can get people to sponsor them and make money off of that. They can wear or advertise different products and receive gifts from others. They don’t get paid directly from the app itself.
This platform has conquered the world of teens. The most active users range from the age of 14-24. Roughly 41% of TikTok users ranged from the age of 14-24. This age group dominates the statistics of any other age group. The most-followed people from TikTok are teenagers. Some of the most-followed people on TikTok are Loren Gray, Baby Ariel, Jacob Sartorius, Charli D’Amelio, and Kristen Hancher.
By Frank Herrera (Staff Writer)