TikTok Is A Worldwide Phenomenon

The TikTok platform is one of the biggest the world has ever seen. If you think about it, you might compare that to something else that is close or similar in popularity.

When people think of “TikTok”, the first thing that most likely comes to mind is the massive platform before thinking of the song “Tik Tok” by Kesha. In this case, this is being based specifically on the word’s spelling.

That would be like the equivalence of other similar scenarios. For example, when people think of “Frozen”, the first thing that comes to mind is the movie and not Madonna’s song “Frozen”.

Although both are popular in their own rights, in terms of what level, they may be either different from or close to each other. Opinions vary.

For another example, when people think of “Toto”, the first thing that might come to mind is the music band and not Dorothy Gayle’s pet Terrier dog in “The Wizard Of Oz”. Or it could be vice versa.

The popularity between two or more things can be a matter of opinion. Votes and polls could also further make it interesting in order to find out what other enthusiasts might think and say.

How Did TikTok Start?

The idea and inspiration came from a now non-existent social platform that many people remember as simply Vine. It was a platform where the concept of it consisted of short and vertical videos.

The concept of TikTok is the same one used by Vine as it was adopted. This would lead to TikTok being a huge success.

Unfortunately, there was a substantial disagreement between platform users and all who ran the platform. This would lead to missed opportunity.

The ultimate reason why Vine collapsed was due to the site not being willing to give monetization a chance. This would leave an opening for other platforms to capitalize on the opportunity and make use of Vine’s concept.

There’s Plenty To Love About TikTok

Just like other platform giants, TikTok is also a massive space where anyone can make content and share it with others. A phone is an easy first choice for making content with.

Anyone can be on the platform. If you intend to gain an audience at a quicker rate, then it’s a good place to start. It’s commonly used for fun and entertainment. However, there are other ways it can be utilized.

If you want to make income from it, you can do it. If you have a talent you want people to see, you can share it.

If you want to promote your business, you can do so. If you want to entertain others and make them laugh, it can be done.

TikTok can also be used to bring others together from many parts of the world. Purpose can make a difference.

Just like with all major platforms, there are guidelines that have to be followed. Not all guidelines are going to be agreed upon, but the ones that are needed are necessary.

How Can TikTok Be Toxic?

Just like there are many upsides, there are also expected to be downsides. They can affect not only just users who have accounts, but they can even affect others who don’t.

One of the biggest types of TikTok trends is when people participate in challenges. To say that this can be a double-edged sword is a complete understatement.

It can be easy to do something to get attention. When young audiences fail to understand what they are getting themselves into, it can become an issue quickly.

There are many trends from other platforms that have inevitably made their ways to TikTok and even more will eventually emerge. Many can be fun, some can result in causing harm, and some can result in loss of life.

One example is the “Blackout Challenge”. It is one of the most well known, notorious, and dangerous TikTok challenges. It is also one of the longest trending social media challenges.

It’s existed even before the age social media. Once some of the big social media platforms were created and drew massive audiences, this lead to social media challenges becoming forever ingrained in popular culture.

As you may have guessed, the “Blackout Challenge” has resulted in dire and irreversible consequences. This challenge is one of a number of challenges that have resulted in deaths of young teens and children.

There are many existing internet challenges that are capable of causing the same thing. It just begs questions like “What’s next?”, “When?”, “How?”, and “Why?”.

Many of these unfortunate events could have been preventable. Unfortunately, many trend followers can habitually go in to something completely blind.

Some do things knowing what the risks are and still take them. When lack of common sense fails, ignorance succeeds.

Then there are instances of unfriendliness. There are users that can negatively impact other users regardless of how big or small.

One example is what transpired with Tiao Cruz. For those of you who might not remember or be familiar with the name, he’s a singer and songwriter.

Just like many others, he decided to join the TikTok party and gain a following of his own. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with doing something so harmless. Unfortunately, those intentions were met with an overwhelmingly negative response completely out of nowhere.

What made it even worse was how Cruz’s intentions were not even intended to provoke others or were found to be offensive in any way. This was a case of hate and bullying.

It was complete mistreatment of someone who just simply wanted to make his way on the platform just like everyone else only to be met with an unfair reception.

This would only become worse after it took an unimaginable toll on Cruz. Not only did it cause him to withdraw from the platform, it also resulted in him having thoughts of suicide. Nothing like this incident should ever be the case.

Can The Toxicity Be Stopped?

The answer to that is easily complicated. Although it can potentially be minimized, completely stopping it will likely always be a pipe dream.

There’s no such thing as a perfect platform. TikTok itself, its founders, developers, and all who are involved running it can always do better. Changes happen and ideally should be applied to where it really counts.

It’s important to address and handle all serious issues that can be a detriment to the TikTok community.

Although it is true that sometimes it may take certain things to happen, it’s smart to both think ahead and harder so that the worry level is low or even nonexistent.

It’s not always as easy as it sounds but there is always something that can be set in place to further drive the effort of making the platform and its community just little safer and healthier.

Do you have any thoughts? Any and all are welcome to be shared. Necessary and additional updates will be made if there are any significant shifts or changes pertaining to the platform. Thank you, dear readers!