Is TikTok Getting Worse?
It was once a Gen Z utopia. Now, it’s turning toxic.
If you haven’t heard of TikTok by now, you’re living under a rock. Tik Tok has, at this point, been talked about to death. To say it’s had an extraordinary rise would be an understatement. It is currently second on the top free apps on the App Store (behind only Zoom), and recently reached two billion downloads. And people — especially teens — can’t get enough of it. It seems unstoppable.
But is it?
In the past few months, even though the app is seeing increased engagement due to the pandemic (because everyone is stuck at home), I’ve begun to see inklings of a subtly-growing dissatisfaction with the app. People who say it’s gotten worse. Who say they miss old TikTok.
But why? Why is TikTok suddenly bad now? To find out, I think it’s important to revisit TikTok’s origins. To go back to old TikTok.
An Exploration of “Old” TikTok
TikTok wasn’t always the teen-darling app that it is today. In fact, when the app first became available within the U.S., in late 2018, after merging with lip-syncing app Musical.ly, it was pretty much the laughing stock of the rest of the internet. It seemed that the worst parts of Musical.ly, an app that my peers and I all liked in 8th grade but then quickly grew out of, had only gotten worse with TikTok. It quickly became known as full of “cringe” — bad, unfunny comedy and lip-syncers way too young to be on the internet. It was getting made fun of all over Reddit and YouTube.
But eventually, there seemed to be a shift in TikTok. More and more people started joining the platform, and the content starting getting better and more diverse as well. People realized the potential the platform had — and started using it for dancing, music, art, comedy, and all kinds of different videos. And as a new wave of creators came to the app with better and better content, TikTok started to gain a better reputation.
That isn’t to say that everyone loved it immediately. Many resisted at first. There is, in fact, a common pathway for many teen TikTok users (I experienced it myself), as follows:
Step 1.) Be pressured by a friend to download TikTok. “It’s not like Musical.ly,” they’ll tell you. “It’s actually good.” Still, you resist. “No, TikTok is so cringy,” you’ll say.
Step 2.) You’re still doubtful, but in a moment of boredom you decide to see what the fuss is all about. You search up “TikToks” on YouTube and watch a series of compilations. (This is the “gateway drug.”)
Step 3.) You go to the App Store and download TikTok. Once you do this, and your For You page starts to customize to your interests, it’s over for you. You are now addicted to TikTok.
Following these three steps brought you into a sort of exclusive club — filled with hilarious videos and truly unique content — an oasis of creativity, humor, discussion, and shock value that just a few days ago, you didn’t even know existed. You pitied those who still viewed TikTok as “cringe.” They didn’t know what they were missing.
“OMG you were right,” I said to my friends a few days after downloading TikTok. “This is amazing. I’m already addicted to it.”
The Beginning of the End?
But the thing about this new TikTok club was that it was cool precisely because it was exclusive. It was a haven from the outside world, even the outside internet. Because it was mostly teens using the platform, they were the ones controlling what was popular.
This is why a lot of people consider Summer 2019 to be TikTok’s “Golden Age.” It had gotten out of its original “cringy kids from Musical.ly” reputation and become better — cooler. People who were starting to gain TikTok fame weren’t traditional celebrities. They were kids and teenagers. The app hadn’t been invaded with such celebrities, as well as brands and parents.
But as TikTok became extraordinarily popular, it began to gain more users. And more. And more. And flashforward to May 2019, and TikTok users aren’t just teens. They’re everyone — from parents, to celebrities, to “influencers,” to artists to chefs to doctors to non-teen children. And with this, TikTok has seen an explosion of content and new creators.
But maybe that’s the problem. Many, especially those who started using TikTok before it got popular, feel that it has gotten worse. This has happened for a few reasons, as these TikToks sum up well:
I’ll try my best to explain these issues in some more depth. One perceived issue is what people call the “hype.” Several creators — most notably, those in the Hype House (a content house of TikTokers founded in December of 2019; which I wrote about here) have gained enormous followings and success on the platform — most notably 16-year-old Charli D’Amelio, the app’s most followed creator, currently with over 57 million followers. However, since then, it has become a common goal for many users to try and go viral on the app — in other words, to get the “hype.” However, many feel that this leads to less original, authentic, and creative content, since people are instead driven by the intention of trying to go viral. On a similar note, many also feel that TikTok is largely looks-based, where conventionally attractive creators are more favored and more likely to go viral (even if others’ content is funnier or otherwise “better”). Additionally, such competition for “hype” amongst creators inevitably breeds drama, fighting, and “canceling.”
Many also dislike the rise of political content on the app. Both Democratic and Republican creators have gone viral. There are even political collaboration accounts, such as @/leftists and @/conservativehypehouse. And while political content is popular, many also dislike it because of its pervasive influence on the rest of the app. In other words, TikTok used to be an escape from political discussions in traditional media or other internet platforms — but that is no longer.
And in general, TikTok has gone from an app that is simply about “having fun” to one that includes talking about political and social issues. And while this means that there have been a lot of great discussions about such issues on the platform, it also means that there is a lot of negativity and toxicity. I’ve even seen sexism, racism, and other dangerous ideas spread on the platform.
What is the future of TikTok?
Ultimately, it is clear that TikTok is no longer the safe haven of creativity and humor it once was — controversy, debate, and toxicity are now extremely prevalent on the platform.
Personally, I think the problem is that TikTok has lost its “it” factor — the thing that makes it different (and “cooler”) than other platforms. It is not just funny, sporadic ideas posted by teenagers in their bedrooms — it’s also full of news, politics, celebrities, influencers, parents, brands, ads, sponsorships, you name it. In other words, it’s become like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, but in 15-second-video format and with catchy songs played in the background.
Or maybe it’s just that its gotten repetitive. I’m not a scientist, but there’s something about TikTok that makes it extra fascinating, novel, and dopamine-inducing when you first download it. Scrolling through the For You page for the first time is a magical experience, and you are captivated by what you’re seeing, so unlike any other platform. But after a while, after all that scrolling, scrolling, and more scrolling, you’re suddenly scrolling into a void, a black hole. Don’t get me wrong — I love TikTok, but it seems that after a while, the novelty of the platform seems to wear off, and you begin to wonder if it is rotting your brain (many have said the app has ruined their attention span).
However, the good news is that many have realized that TikTok has gotten more toxic and repetitive — and are actively trying to change it for the better. The hashtags #bringbacksummer2019, #tiktokrewind2019, #summer2k19, and #savetiktok are gaining momentum, and it seems that many are genuinely dedicated to the cause:
So, can teens save TikTok, and bring it back to its “glory days”? Well, I guess only time will tell.
