Few in the present-day world are not aware of the popularity of TikTok. In case you are one of them, you should know that it is one of the fastest-growing social media applications in the world. The main purpose of this app is that it enables users to use 15-second lip-syncing videos and create their content. From filters to music to their storyline, they can apply anything and make something of their own. The app has drawn a lot of negative criticism from many quarters. Many think that most videos are cringe-worthy and have little to no creativity involved. However, nobody can deny that it has risen to be one of the most downloaded apps in recent times. While debates are surrounding the goodness of it, there are no arguments when it comes to the unchallenged superiority that the app enjoys amongst its competitors.
Some statistical data to highlight the success of TikTok:
It all started when an app named Douyin was launched in China in the year 2016. It was handled by a Beijing based company named ByteDance and they also promoted this app outside China in 2017. Google Play Store has made this app popular all over the world and although the software for Douyin is the same as TikTok, the networks are separated since the Chinese censorship laws are different from the rest of the world.
There was an app named Musical.ly which was the same format and this was purchased by ByteDance and merged with their own.
Musical.ly was extremely popular in the United States of America and a favorite among the youth of the country. With the merger, TikTok earned an immediate fan-following in the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_lZqeEg8zs
Other countries soon followed suit making TikTok the 9th largest social networking site ahead of Twitter and Snapchat.
Only in the year 2019, TikTok had over 1.5 billion downloads which hint at the immense popularity worldwide. It is only before Whatsapp which had the most downloads in the year.
According to the data of GlobalWebIndex in 2019, almost 41% of users on TikTok are between the age-group 16-24. The content is heavily driven to draw in the youth and they cater to the younger audience which makes for the majority of their followers.
With over 467 million users, India leads the charts when it comes to the popularity of Tiktok in various countries. It is followed by China and the USA and India alone accounted for almost one-third of all downloads.
With outreach in 155 countries and the availability in 75 languages have contributed greatly to the success of this popular app.
According to the data provided by E-Marketer, the number of TikTok users in the United States of America would have increased to 45.4 million in 2024 from 37.2 million in 2019. The power of video content is increasing and at the same time, apps like Facebook are seeing a downward slide.
All these points to the obvious, that TikTok is set to grow even though the growth rate will slow down.
Some TikTok Challenges to check out:
TikTok Challenges have been one of the reasons for the growing popularity of the app. To keep up with the trend, many youngsters try out these challenges which usually become viral after a celebrity starts it. Some of the most popular challenges are as follows:
Renegade Challenge: This was a 15-second dance video that the users had to perform and it emerged as the most popular TikTok challenge of all times with 1.4 billion views.
Woah Challenge: This was another popular dance move and the challenge is a close second with 1 billion views.
Other popular challenges include Obsessed Challenge, Yeehaw Challenge, and the Flip the Switch Challenge which was popularized by Jimmy Fallon.
Popular stars of TikTok:
TikTok has created stars out of the common man and some of the TikTok personalities enjoy a huge fan following. This is also a great source for them to earn money because the TikTok videos are paid for by their sponsors. Some of the most popular people on TikTok include Charlie D Amelio who has over 44.3 million followers. She is closely followed by Loren Grey and Zach King with 41.8 million and 39.3 million followers respectively. Stars like Baby Ariel and Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) are some of the other celebrities on TikTok.
Their presence draws in their millions of fans and makes this app all the more popular. Many actresses and popular personalities also have a TikTok account and they keep fans updated with regular posts.
(Graphics and research courtesy of Betway)
TikTok in the Times of Corona:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6QOLzhbLc
The lockdown which is currently affecting most regions of the world due to the Corona Virus has been great for TikTok. More users have been hooked on to the app and experts think that the projected growth of TikTok will be surpassed since people are locked in their houses at present. The ability to have an outlet for their creative thirst is giving way to more people using this app and creating videos in a matter of minutes.
Conclusion
It can be safely inferred that TikTok is not a mere replacement for apps like Vine and it has made a space for its own. You may like it or dislike it but there is no scope to not take TikTok seriously since it has proven to be a capable competition to big names such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The greatest advantage of this app is that it is filled with light-hearted content and this means that users can enjoy some entertaining moments in a matter of minutes. Since it empowers the youth to be a creator, TikTok has drawn from the growing popularity of its trends and celebrity presence. To summarize things, the rapid rise of TikTok is no fluke and this popularity is here to stay and increase in the times to come.