The popular app TikTok has become an outlet for not only students, but people of all ages to entertain themselves. TikTok has shown to be one of the most innovative apps currently available with the way that it allows people to be creative and show their diversity, and it seems to have gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While in quarantine, many people have turned towards TikTok out of boredom and curiosity. Exercise science major, Triston Morgan said, “TikTok was one of the ways I was entertained, oftentimes I was bored because I couldn’t get out [of] the house so, therefore, I would hop on TikTok and see all the crazy things and funny content.” Being able to access the content on the app has allowed people to communicate with the outside world while also being stuck at home. The world has had to adjust their everyday lives because of the pandemic, but TikTok has given people another way to be entertained and informed.
The app provides many people with a platform to show off their skills and also allows people to learn new ones. There are TikTok videos about styling hair, cooking food and acting out skits to make people laugh.
Still, other videos on TikTok provide tutorials for people that want to learn new skills from other TikTokers. These tutorial videos range from how to do a new dance to how to make transitions in videos, and even how to make clothing. Many students around campus take their time to make their own videos, they even sometimes will stop and make them on the way to class. Secondary social studies education major Malaki Watson said, “I make a wide range of videos. From comedy to dances, to cover (only on the friends-only tab), and what I’m most famous for, transitions.”
People can also enjoy the comedy side of TikTok. Having these fun and entertaining parts of the app can release some of the tension the pandemic has caused.
TikTok has brought many people together without even being in the same room. People have communicated through the app by commenting and responding to one another’s videos, tagging each other in their content, or dueting another TikToker’s video.
More serious informational videos can be found on TikTok as well. TikTok has provided a platform for some users to give their view of what is going on in the world. Videos of recent riots that have been happening in different states, for example, were being posted along with many users’ opinions of them. Many get to see this side of TikTok, it is important that there is exposure to the audience about these issues. Mass communication major Rayonna Freeman said, “ I do see the political side and serious side of TikTok a lot and I kind of like it because it’s bringing awareness [to] generations of people who may not watch the news or haven’t had the opportunity to engage in on what is happening in the world.”
“I believe it’s a great thing to have on there because we live in a time where racial tensions and politics are bigger than ever and I believe many of the people watching TikTok can actually vote so I think it’s very beneficial,” Morgan said.
On TikTok, people are free to express what they believe and are open to being themselves. Even when the world is going through a pandemic, people can find a way to still be creative and communicate with one another no matter who or where they are.
Graphic by Lizzy Talbert
