Pandemic, Popularity, Purpose: The Rise of TikTok
Dubai | Sunday, 25 April 2021
“I promised myself that I would not download TikTok even if somebody held a gun to my head,” says Rimsha Fathima. The 19-year-old was one of the many who looked down upon TikTok when it suddenly started growing in popularity. “I thought it was a useless app where people just recorded themselves dancing. I loathed TikTok and judged anybody who used it.”
Fathima’s opinion took a turn when in 2020, lockdowns were implemented to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. Forced to stay at home and “bored of Instagram and Twitter”, everybody, including herself, started gravitating towards the app. All of a sudden, TikTok was considered cool, and endlessly scrolling through its For You page became a part of the new normal. Now completely addicted, Fathima says: “TikTok is a blessing to me during this pandemic. I look at people's experiences and hobbies and I have fun trying them out”.
The Pandemic
The demand for TikTok peaked in March 2020 and, in the first quarter of the year, hit a record all-time high with 200 million global downloads. Before 2020, the app’s user base was predominantly in China and India. Developed by Chinese unicorn company ByteDance, TikTok is a video-sharing and social networking platform which allows users to upload content with a maximum duration of one minute.
Much like the Coronavirus, the popularity of TikTok rapidly spread and took the world by storm. According to statistics, the app has 689 million monthly active users worldwide and has been downloaded on the iOS App and Google Play Stores over 2 billion times. Despite initial opinions, the app offers more than just dancing and lip-syncing content. Users utilize TikTok’s large database of soundtracks and audio-visual filters to make creative and unique bite-sized videos ranging in genres from comedy skits to cooking tutorials, fan-fiction sketches, micro-blogs, art, law, medicine, and everything in between.
During the lockdown implemented in the UAE last year, 19-year-old Zeeshan Barmeda decided to create a TikTok account out of boredom. Barmeda, who always had an inclination towards content creation, says: “I saw other people making TikTok videos that were all over different social media platforms. When I realized that there is a lot more one can do with TikTok, I started making my own videos”.
Barmeda’s content includes humorous skits, duets, and affiliate marketing videos. In less than a year, Barmeda’s handle @zeeshanbarmeda garnered more than 1 million likes and over 26,700 followers. Two of his TikToks, where he dressed up as Bollywood characters, won him the Arab Asia Starz talent hunt competition in the fashion category. He consequently appeared on the cover of Filmfare Middle East.
Zeeshan Barmeda's Tiktoks have gone viral. (Source: @zeeshanbarmeda)
Barmeda believes that TikTok is allowing users to showcase their hidden talents. Unlike Instagram or Youtube, TikTok’s algorithm provides free organic reach (the number of people your content reaches without paid advertising). He says that because of this, it is easy for anyone with an original idea to go viral: “If you’re someone with zero followers but with a really great idea, people will see your video. You just need to be creative with what you have”.
Users with a certain number of followers can broadcast live on the app and receive fan sent digital gifts which can be exchanged for money. Unlike other social media platforms, for the creators that spend time and energy to make TikTok videos, there are no monetary benefits from the number of viewers. This, ironically, benefits the brand promotion of small businesses, thanks to the app’s organic reach.
In 2016, Bytedance initially launched the Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin. The worldwide version was launched the following year, and in 2018, the company acquired and merged with its American rival karaoke app called Musical.ly.
23-year-old Rukiyyah Waheed from Riyadh had a Musical.ly account before it was turned into TikTok. While she had an existent following, she believes that her followers increased during the lockdown. Her handle @rukibizarre, with over 96 million likes and more than 2.9 million followers, has the blue tick of a verified celebrity. One of her TikTok trademarks - which she frequently depicts in her videos - is a slipper being thrown at herself to hilariously portray the strict discipline routine of parents.
Rukiyyah Waheed's Tiktoks have received millions of likes. (Source: @rukibizarre)
Waheed believes that TikTok served as an antidote to the lockdown: “A lot of people got depressed overthinking about what was going to happen. TikTok brought joy and hope to people. They got to pass their time on it and calm their mind. The app allowed a little spark of joy during this hard time”. Her content is mainly comical but also includes make-up tutorials, challenges, and brand promotions. Stores like Shein, Centrepoint, and CityMax either pay or send her free items to promote their products.
TikTokers schedule their time around their busy lives. In addition to all the content Waheed creates for her Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube channels, she has a nine-to-five job. Despite her packed timetable she does not lose motivation: “I feel like it’s my responsibility now. I notice from the comments on my videos that I am giving a lot of positive feelings and emotions to people. When I see that I’m spreading goodness out there, it makes me happy and motivates me.” Waheed considers social media to be a great viable career in the future and says that one day “insha’Allah, I might quit my job and focus on content creation”.
As a student studying mechanical engineering, Zeeshan Barmeda, agrees that balancing university workload and content creation is difficult. He says: “I can continue studying and not make any videos, but if I don’t post, my engagement will go down and I may have missed an opportunity for one of my videos to go viral”.
Barmeda’s confidence grew when his videos went viral not just on TikTok but also on Instagram. He says that TikTok helped him develop his personality and overcome his anxieties: “I discovered a really different aspect of me; someone who has a sense of humour and is more social. I speak more now and I am able to present myself much better”.
The Power of Tiktok
On average, more than 1 million videos are watched every day. What initially drew most people to TikTok was its comedic factor, but very soon, there was a lot more the app had to offer. Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of TikTok are its “aesthetics” - niche subcultures that allow people to uniquely express their fantasies.
The #DarkAcademia aesthetic has over 853 million views and romanticizes existentialism and the longing for knowledge. Its videos depict montages of student life in historical university campuses with gloomy libraries, vintage clothing, and sepia-toned visuals of classical art and literature. Another aesthetic #CottageCore, has 6 billion views and romanticizes a cosy life of simplicity and natural beauty in the countryside.
Cottagecore attire, which boasts flowing dresses, gained popularity thanks to Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women. It has been observed that TikTok trends often grow with new popular media - another example being #RegencyCore or #RoyaltyCore. Both the hashtags gained traction due to Netflix’s period drama Bridgerton. After the show’s release, there was a spike in users on TikTok who posted videos of donning their renditions of early 1800s Regency-era wardrobe - puffed sleeves, Empire waists, corsets, and gloves.
Paradoxically, the popularity of the #RegencyCore hashtag paved the way for the release of Bridgerton. Research claims that the appearance of the period drama in a time where everyone is obsessed with historical clothing is no mere coincidence. Media agencies like Netflix take into account what is currently trending before producing new movies or series. This allows shows like Bridgerton to bring in a large viewership. The reach of TikTok in the movie industry is also visible in the recent release of Chaos Walking, which was advertised on the platform through influential TikTokers.
Another niche of the app is #BookTok. TikToks about books hold the power to move books to best-seller lists, despite some of them being published almost a decade ago. On BookTok, bibliophiles obsess over their favourites, rant, and dress up as book characters. Publishers now contact influential BookTokers and offer payment or free books in return for TikTok videos reviewing and promoting their titles.
A Sense of Purpose
Vanshika Agrawal, a 21-year-old university student who believed the app to be “super cringe” and “a trashier version of Musical.ly”, also joined the TikTok bandwagon during quarantine. As an unintended consequence of the lockdowns, she claims that doing TikTok challenges or making videos took up the large amounts of spare time that people now had. Agrawal believes that the app grew in popularity because of the sense of purpose it gave to its users: “We humans like excitement, seeing, and learning new things. As we couldn’t leave our homes, TikTok allowed us to see new faces, other people’s homes, backyards, and hear their stories and voices - it felt like being away from home”.
As opposed to other platforms, Tiktok does not care about appearances. Users on Tiktok upload videos of themselves bare-faced and wearing pyjamas. The app allows people to talk about their struggles and experiences in a personalized surrounding. Many accounts aim to care and bring awareness about diverse topics. TikTok allows users a sense of community and a safe, non-judgemental environment where they can just be themselves. Agrawal says: “TikTok reached heights of popularity the app itself probably didn’t expect to reach”.