Lizzy Talbert/ The Johnsonian
When it comes to what’s trending, many things are thrown at the wall in hopes that it’ll stick. TikTok can safely be considered as one of the few things that actually stuck.
TikTok, formerly musical.ly, is an iOS and Android app that has taken the world by storm over the last couple years. It provides a platform for users of all ages to make and upload videos under a minute long for others to enjoy. These videos are usually comedic clips based on popular audios that users lip sync to. Other popular clip types are cosplaying and singing.
The app quickly found its place among others such as Snapchat and Instagram as a mainstay on many people’s phones. However, this has led to many people comparing it to the now retired Vine.
Vine was a similar app that allowed users to make short clips, but these clips were under 10 seconds long. This similarity has led many to say that TikTok is just Vine 2.0, while others defend it as its own entity and even better than Vine ever was.
Winthrop students have varying opinions when it comes to TIkTok. Many agree with one supporter’s opinion of the app.
When asked how she felt about the platform, freshman psychology major Raegen Grooms said, “It is even broader than Vine was to share original content, it has more people on it, and offers longer time limits.” Grooms thinks the app is very diverse and allows more opportunities for users to express themselves. She also believes TikTok’s bad rep stems from people’s expectations of it as the new Vine rather than it’s own entity.
Another popular opinion shared among the student body can be summed up by another freshman in the form of the conflicted Alicia Zindars. Zindars, a social work major, thinks that TikTok is “Vine’s annoying little sister.” When asked why she was conflicted on her opinion, she said, “[TikTok] can be funny, but it is just a cringier version of Vine, and I miss Vine. I miss Vine so much.” She also believes it falls short in ways that Vine excelled.
Kerron Scurry has his own unique perspective on the platform. Scurry, an undeclared freshman, enjoys making TikToks with his nieces, but outside of that does not really believe it is better than Vine, nor does he believe it is worse. He sees it simply as a great way to bond with his nieces.
When it comes down to the bottom line, Winthrop students are as diverse in their opinion of TikTok as the app is in content. However, the platform continues to grow everyday as more and more users sign up. Part of its growth can be attributed to this heated debate as people check to see what all the fuss is really about; especially when the app is compared to the once beloved Vine. Is TikTok a hit or miss? A lot of Winthrop students feel like it lands somewhere in the middle.
