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TikTok: My Journey

 


I first downloaded TikTok when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and sent all of us college students home in March of 2020. I was pretty bored and tired of scrolling on Instagram and Snapchat when I decided to download it. It took me a while to have a “for you” page that was actually tailored to me, but once that happened I’d was on TikTok all the time. I learned a bunch of trending TikTok dances during quarantine but didn’t post any.

When we all returned back to college in the fall, I soon realized that TikTok was taking up too much of my time. I would be on it for 3 hours every night and then go hang out with friends, leaving no time for me to do my homework. I ended up having to delete the app because I had so much to do. I redownloaded it this past summer because I assumed I would have less to do as a senior. However, it turned out that I’m actually a little better at managing my time now. I only average about 1 hour and 20 minutes a day and can balance my classes with my internship. I’ve only posted one video of me and one of my friends dancing, but I have a couple drafts of me using filters that I might post because they’re kind of funny.

I currently follow Sadie Crowell, Kouvr, Ellie Thumann, Tabitha Swatosh, Ken Eurich, Allison Kuch, Isaac Rochell and many other influencers on TikTok. My “for you” page is usually filled with conspiracy theories, product recommendations, people complaining about classes, and random tidbits of advice. I also like to check out what is trending on TikTok because it can be really funny or informative. Like my other social media apps, the ads tailored to me are usually makeup, food and TV shows.

I think that the way TikTok ads are set up can sometimes make it difficult to tell if the video is an ad or not. This can be good for companies because if they show a video that’s creative and funny and supply a link, many users will be more likely to purchase the product or go order the food they see.

Something I think is interesting about TikTok is that so many people are worried about China spying on us through this app. I’m not sure whether to believe the rumors, but I do know that I’ve gotten a lot of my news from the app. All social media apps store your data in the first place, so I’m not sure at this point in time how worried we should be.





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