Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is developed and owned by a Chinese company namely, ByteDance. It has evolved from a previously used short clip video-sharing app known to be ‘Musically’.
Musically was a startup based in Shanghai, with an office in Santa Monica, California. ByteDance, for around $1 Billion (approximately) bought the Musically App and merged it with TikTok, to expand its user base and popularity in the midst of all age groups.
Hence, TikTok grew as a lip-sync video-making application worldwide.
All the nations throughout the globe use the TikTok app except for China because China has a similar application Douyin which was developed by the same company as TikTok that is ByteDance, a year before TikTok was introduced.
Why is TikTok good for you?
Tiktok, a greatly emerging video-sharing social networking site, which is very popular among people of all age groups, mostly youngsters. The platform is gaining much popularity over time. The platform has unearthed humongous talents who lacked in struggling for the right social platform.
A number of People earn a living through this media and some attained great success as lifestyle bloggers and influencers too. People from remote areas also evolved as popular faces through their creative and intriguing videos.
It has helped people understand a lot of pains and struggles of people which is reflected through the videos they make, at the same time it helped in funding for many talented identities who are not very financially stable.
A lot of homemakers and people who are busy with their professional lives secure TikTok as a destination for their refreshment. After work, Some fun videos with family or dear ones are truly pleasureful.
Some TikTok user, create some videos with truly amazing thoughts and concepts which bring about much strong truth of lies and society. Thus, TikTok is truly a platform for all acquitted with equal space and priorities irrespective of caste, gender, religion, or anything.
A number of users have earned fame from TikTok and also earns a lump sum amount from companies and sponsors based upon their fans, follows, likes, and other criteria of the TikTok company. This also inspires many to do dream big and attain greater heights in life through their creativity and ability to express.
It totally depends upon the user how it uses the specific application. TikTok has bigger positive motives that look forward to the allover well being of humans and for generating awareness among people about the different social and emotional aspects.
They carry out several campaigns to promote their good intentions. Some of their campaigns were,
#EduTok (to encourage users to create motivational and educational awareness content, revolving around various themes).
#PetBff (to promote animal safety, concern and awareness to celebrate International Homeless Animal’s Day, 2019)
#ForClimate ( in order to aware people about climate change)
#MyEarthHour2019, #DanceforChange, etc.
What is bad about Tik Tok?
What are the disadvantages of TikTok?
A coin has two sides, the way Tiktok is unfurling new talents and some TikTok are inspiring many, similarly, it has some drawbacks too.
Some of the negative aspects of the TikTok application are:
1. Realm of strangers:
In this particular app, any user can directly message anyone regarding anything. Thus TikTok is a realm of strangers for its accessibility to receive and send text messages to any user using the application.
Although TikTok’s community guidelines entail about child safety and have “zero tolerance” for any sort of behavior that could indicate or promotes child abuse or sexual exploitation, yet a number of young girls who use the app face a lot of trouble through provocative messages and comments from other users and adult persons. The comments are then appreciated and criticized by other fellow users.
Therefore, this affects a person’s mental health and well being, which might lead to serious issues in the victim’s life. Thus TikTok can seriously be a reason for someone’s treason.
2. Bullying:
Eventually with a rise in the number of users has also led to a competitive spirit among them. Well, that in a way good to generate better content out of the spirit. That is a healthy competition.
But now when abusive contents are being put up to defame someone, where body-shaming, status, financial health are being used as weapons is no way a relevant way of competing with someone. But in TikTok, people putting up videos with their own voices for particular fellow users with intriguing words and where other user comes and comments their opinions too, some supporting while some standing against it.
Hence, the harmony is hampered in this way and maybe TikTok and its guidelines are not rigid enough to stop this bullying, which is actually a big matter of concern.
3. Challenges that are detrimental:
Everyone in this world runs races to gain popularity, fame, and TikTok is one of the easily accessed stepping stone to gain the desired fame and popularity and hence is much appreciated by many.
And so engrossed in their motives, they often tend to forget to verify if they are choosing the right road to walk down. People, especially the youth base of the world involve themselves in trying out some kinds of tasks and then challenge other users to perform them too. This is one basic way TikTokers try to gain followers and try to satisfy their hunger for likes.
There have been dangerous challenges that went viral all over the platform and many of the users trying its executive have hurt themselves. Some kids who use these are also known to have been injured trying out these viral challenges.
4. Addictive or just a Myth?
In true sense, Tiktok is one of the most addictive social networking sites.
I, personally is one of the millions who are in the phase of addiction using this particular social platform.
Why is Tik Tok addictive?
TikTok, unlike other social networking platforms, never gets boring.
Because as a viewer you may or may not like or comment on the videos but can keep scrolling down the timeline. The application tracks the record of the videos you like and dislike and generally shows up the contents preferred by you. This entirely grabs the viewers’ attention and makes him/her interested in it.
Secondly, as mention in the third point, people love popularity, if you are a TikTok video maker and see people following you and reacting in your videos, your enthusiasm of course gets a boost and when that happens there’s no way coming back. By hook or by crook you manage time and finally make a video, wait for reactions of people.
Many were also concerned with users' attention spans with these videos. Users watch short 15-second clips repeatedly and studies say that this could report to a decrease in attention span. This is a concern as many of TikTok's audience is younger children, where their brain is still developing.
This is very time consuming and channelizes your mentality in a way, which again is a black side of the social networking app, TikTok.
Hence, Tiktok is very addictive and has managed to drive a great population of the world into this madness of video making.
5. PRIVACY CONCERNS:
Privacy concerns were also brought up against this application. TikTok’s privacy policy states that it collects usage information, IP addresses, a user's mobile carrier, unique device identifiers, keystroke patterns, and location data, among other data, which puts the user’s private data at risk as claimed by Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk, the two renowned web-developers.
A security flaw in TikTok was identified by Check Point research, that reported to have allowed hackers access to user accounts using SMS.
In 2020, the CEO of Reddit criticizes the TikTok app and claims TikTok to be spyware.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority and The European Data Protection Board also questioned the Pricay Concerns of TikTok asking about privacy protection for children and users’ privacy and security status respectively.
The European Data Protection Board even announced to set up a team to check TikTok’s user’s privacy concerns and security practices.
(Information accessed from Wikipedia).
Is there a dark side of TikTok?
Be it a machine or an application, the repercussions of it depends upon the person using it. So, if you use the TikTok Application carefully you might not be able to conclude that there is a dark side of TikTok. But mostly it is extracted over time and some researches that the regulation and guidelines of the TikTok application in precisely not very rigid.
There have been weird, dangerous challenges being uploaded on the media and heaps of people following the trend unaware of the consequences. Thus it is involving the mass to take major risks suited in the frame of sporty challenges which can actually be harmful.
What is the impact of apps like TikTok on youth?
The application had driven a major portion of the youngsters into this, which has restricted outdoor activities and even made them disoriented towards their studies. They tend to invest most of their time in this particular thing, which is awful.
If you ever switch to TikTok, you might come across a lot of videos with abusive irrelevant content, which might create a bad influence over the youth generation that is using TikTok.
Do you get paid on TikTok?
TikTok is a Platform that enables its users to make real money online for the content they create. The biggest reason for the money earring is Influencer Marketing.
As a content creator showcases his or her lifestyle through different videos they make on different themes and which is watched by millions of viewers reciprocates that they are influenced by the content creator. And thus depending on the views generated for videos, followers gained by the content creators, likes they get for their videos and several other factors act as the parameter to help the content creator fetch money.
The response generated against the video in the TikTok platform varies greatly from one content creator to another for their unique ideas, acting, dances, or dramas.
Does TikTok give you money?
As a matter of fact, the main ideology of the content creator should be to seek viewer’s attention through their presentation for a minute (as the TikTok enables them to have videos for a minute only) and that is enough to help to get your job done of earring money online.
There are several other strategies to get started with your TikTok earning like interlinking your TikTok account with YouTube and Instagram accounts to help people know about you as a TikTok content creator.
Apart from receiving direct money from the company itself, these are also some easy way to get money through the TikTok Platform:
1. Promoting brands in your videos (just like any other form of influencer marketing), either directly or more indirectly (like an unboxing video or simply by wearing a fashion label’s clothes in your videos)
2. Cross-promoting your promotions on your other platforms, e.g., if you make a good income from YouTube you can use your TikTok channel to bring people over to your YouTube channel
3. Using your TikTok videos to promote items you’re selling somewhere
4. Creating live videos and receiving tips from your viewers (formerly called Live.ly, but now called Go Live).
How much money do you get for 1 million followers on TikTok?
Someone with one million followers on TikTok is expected to earn approximately $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 as sponsorship on TikTok. The amount may vary with time and also depending on the conditions of the Compay itself. But above all, earning money through this is only possible if you monetize your account.
Who is the biggest Tik Tok star?
There are numerous TikTok stars with a million or more followers over TikTok. The top TikTok star positions are occupied by the creative youngster of the world. Their unique imaginations and strong illustrations through one-minute videos have helped them to generate huge fanbases for themselves at a very young age. Presently the designation of the Biggest TikTok star of the World is occupied by
LOREN GRAY with 32.6 Million followers on the TikTok Platform. At the age of 17, she is the most popular face of TikTok with a huge fan forum.
The second position is attained by another pretty young face, namely, BABY ARIEL aka ARIEL MARTIN.
Baby Ariel has 29.8 million followers on TikTok. She was the first to cross the 20 Million mark on Musically and she famed from there. Fame from TikTok has led to a lot of gigs On Disney and Nickelodeon TV shows.
There are many more famous stars from different countries of the world who astonished the world with their conceptual video magics and won hearts. They earn their living through TikTok and this platform has also helped them to grow in other realms of lives.
Impact of using TikTok in our daily lives
Tiktok has majorly influenced the lives of people using the application. No matter what works they have they manage to make TikTok videos amidst works or after they finish with it. For some people, it has become a mandate to run their lives.
The TikTok application it is available in 150 markets and 75 languages which ha helped it highly to gain popularity and this makes it user friendly for people from every corner of the globe.
The reason behind it is a very addictive application is, it generate a feeling of fear of missing out. Thus, they tend to maximize their time of usage behind the application, either creating or watching the videos.
It has greatly influenced the youth by propagating easy money-making schemes and a lot of interesting features and themes. Watching one video, individuals want more to see. The engaging content grabs the attention of the user and they also engage in creating the same video but most people can’t afford the things and most don’t give an impression in front of the camera. This makes them more indulge in making that with more perfection that kills a lot of their time but they pay zero heeds to that.
TikTok has become a kind of Necessary for them.
Thus TikTok has vividly affected the lives of individuals but above all, I repeat the same line I have mentioned earlier that is, TikTok’s impact depends on the usage of the application and the usage of the application solely rests in the hands of the user.