For those who don’t know, TikTok is an app for posting amateur music videos. Its original iteration in 2009 was the app Musical.ly, but in 2018, it was purchased and renamed TikTok.

According to Oberlo.com’s article “10 TikTok statistics that you need to know in 2019”, “TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world which presents an alternative version of online sharing.” With all of the freedom for people to post what they want, the app is blowing up and many people are using it. 

Though the content on the app may be funny and entertaining most times, it is also sometimes hard to watch – no matter the content it’s definitely addictive. Creators spend hours taking time to perfect their videos before uploading them. And, viewers of videos can easily get sucked into watching video after video and lose track of time.

Sophomore Cayla LaPorte admits to getting randomly caught up on the app watching videos of the craziest things. “It is oddly addicting because you sit there for a few minutes watching, and then suddenly 2 hours have passed and you’re still watching,” shares LaPorte. 

Another popular feature on TikTok is the weekly trends. Someone will make a video and it will go so viral that other people start recreating it and soon everyone is doing it. Then after about a week the trend fades away and it is no longer popular until another one starts again. 

Sophomore Emma Akalaitis has been on TikTok for about a year. “I downloaded TikTok as a joke, but when I started using it more I found the videos that people posted to actually be funny so I just haven’t stopped.” 

TikTok has exploded in popularity with just the start of this year. As of 2019, Datareportal has reported that there are 500 million active users worldwide. Along with all of the users, TikTok has become the 3rd most downloaded app in 2019 with 188 million new users. 

Datareportal goes on to say that most of the users on this powerful entertainment app are teens between the ages of 16 and 24. 56% of the users are male and 44% are female and on average the average TikTok user spends 52 minutes per day on the app. 

Even though TikTok is popular and used by many, it can still be harmful. So beware of what videos you are posting and viewing and be sure to keep your eye on the clock so you don’t tick tock your day away!