41% of TikTok users are aged 16-24, but there is a trend toward increased use among adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTikTok is especially popular among teens, who typically use it to post videos of themselves singing along to their favorite songs, short comedy sketches, or a variety of viral \u2018challenges\u2019\u201d (\u201cDoes TikTok Allow Strangers,\u201d Snopes.com, Feb. 18, 2019).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n TikTok is an app for creating and watching 15 second videos. It is a self-expression forum. \u201cTikTok might be described as a repository of canned content to be conveniently remixed with user-created videos, a viral meme generating machine that makes users feel like rock stars\u201d (\u201cTikTok,\u201d Forbes, June 28, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s very user-centric.\u201d \u201cWhat makes it so attractive is that practically anyone can become a content provider because of the simplicity of using the app.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a way to express themselves and create short-form video clips to gain a following and build a community around their passions. It also features some great special effects that users can apply to their videos to make them more unique. You can also cross-post the content on other platforms to share it with more people\u201d (\u201cTikTok app safety,\u201d Internetmatters.org, Dec. 3, 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTikTok has the video prowess of YouTube, the immediacy of Snapchat, and the concise artistry of Instagram, making it an ample playground for aspiring influencers\u201d (\u201cTikTok Tricks,\u201d Kim Kimando Show, Mar. 1, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTikTok trends are spilling over onto Instagram, YouTube, and TV shows like Saturday Night Live. Its stars are appearing in Super Bowl ads and late-night talk shows. And songs that become popular on TikTok are topping Billboard charts\u2013the music artist Drake recently used TikTok to release his latest single, \u2018Toosie Slide\u2019\u201d (\u201cTikTok is breaking download records and taking over pop culture,\u201d Business Insider, Apr. 16, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was initially launched in China as Douyin, and in 2017 it was renamed TikTok and launched by ByteDance for markets outside of China. ByteDance purchased Musical.ly and merged it with TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The United States military banned TikTok from government-issued smartphones and strongly discouraged them from keeping the app on personal devices. This is due to the possibility of TikTok being used by the Chinese government for spying purposes. Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman, warns, \u201cBecause I look at that app as so fundamentally parasitic, that it\u2019s always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying, and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone. I actively tell people, \u2018Don\u2019t install that spyware on your phone\u2019\u201d (\u201cReddit CEO: TikTok is \u2018fundamentally parasitic,\u2019\u201d Techcrunch.com, Feb. 27, 2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n TikTok tried to cannibalize its user\u2019s contacts by asking users to sync their contacts and sending notifications to the contacts announcing new videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like all youth-oriented social media, TikTok is facilitating the sexualization of society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe fame-seeking, music-video ethos of the app has given rise to an uncomfortable trend of young teens engaging in sexually suggestive dancing and behavior\u201d (Snopes.com, Feb. 18, 2019).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c[M]ost TikTok users are girls 13 or less who record themselves dancing and lip syncing to their favorite songs, often trying to be the most provocative or daring. \u2026 Now, if you put a whole bunch of videos of pubescent girls dancing to their favorite music on a social network with recommendation tools it\u2019s going to become a magnet for sexual predators who are likely to try to contact them through the app\u2019s chat feature; what\u2019s more, it even helps users find videos of a certain type. \u2026 the FTC has already fined TikTok $5.7 million for storing profiles and personal information of children aged under thirteen without their parents\u2019 consent, as well making those profiles public and even for allowing, until October 2016, to share their location\u2026 What could possibly go wrong?\u201d (\u201cTikTok: A Lesson in Irresponsibility,\u201d Forbes, July 4, 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was reported in 2020 that TikTok has become a dating app. Users are posting \u201ccute, short videos sharing a little about themselves\u201d with hashtags such as #datemeplz, #someonedateme, #wouldyoudateme, $reasontodateme, and #plsdateme. These receive millions of views. Interested parties can leave comments, follow them, or send a direct message (DM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUsers flirt through comments and DMs on TikTok, then they might switch over to another platform (like Snapchat) to talk further, and then make their grand entrance back on TikTok as a new couple\u201d (\u201cTikTok is the Latest Dating App,\u201d Axis.org).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe possibility of receiving unwanted DMs from older people, even predators, is always within question when it comes to the internet, but openly inviting others to reach out with their interest in dating you obviously leaves a wider chasm for inappropriate behavior to occur\u201d (Axis.org).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like all social media, TikTok has the potential to be a massive time waster. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s funny, sometimes it\u2019s cringey, but it\u2019s definitely addictive\u201d (\u201c10 TikTok Statistics,\u201d Oberlo.com, Nov. 22, 2019). 90% of TikTok users access the app on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n TikTok recommends videos based on AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms that study the user\u2019s behaviour, and by swiping down the user keeps watching whatever is offered. \u201cIt gives them a sense of mystery and makes them excited \u2026 it\u2019s easy to stay in the loop of watching more and more videos\u201d (\u201cWhy Is TikTok Sweeping over the World?\u201d UXDesign.cc, Mar. 13, 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2020, TikTok users signed up for hundreds of thousands of tickets for President Trump\u2019s campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a prank, tricking the campaign chairman into announcing that more than a million people had registered and formulating plans for a non-existent overflow crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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