As the 2018-2019 school year came to a conclusion, a new social media platform was beginning to flourish. This newborn social media platform, Tik Tok, seemed to be the perfect recreation of Musical.ly that incorporated the adored and greatly missed Vine. Some people argued that Tik Tok was comedy gold and others believed it was cringey and not worth their time. As the summer passed, Tik Tok grew in supporters but also in haters. 

“I started doing Tik Tok because it was a trend,” junior Maya Kim said. “I was just following the trend.”

Many people sympathize with junior Wendy Wood’s state of discontent after watching pre-teens dance to and mouth songs ridden with innuendos and profanities. 

“Tik Tok makes me uncomfortable,” junior Wendy Wood said. “I think it’s kind of embarrassing that people lip sync and are okay with posting it. If [I made a Tik Tok and] people at my school saw it, I’d be embarrassed.”

But there are Tik Tok advocates who claim that Tik Tok is nothing like the dead lip syncing app of Musical.ly. Junior Jace Lopez gained a considerable amount of followers on Tik Tok over the summer. He, and many other Tik Tok supporters, believe that the platform is a place for the young population to be themselves and express their creativity. Because of this, Tik Tok has become a place where people post their talents with the intentions of recognition. 

“I think the app blew up because our generation has a problem of reinventing old trends, such as Converse and scrunchies,” Lopez said. “Tik tok has honestly been a huge distraction to most of our generation, but it has also opened the imagination and creativity of our generation.”

Whether it be singing, humor, magic, or athletics, Tik Tok has allowed young people to become recognized for their talents and creativity by other young people all across the world. 

“I always tell people that the three easiest ways to get follows is either be attractive, funny or its by luck,” Lopez said. Personally, I was lucky.”

Young adults and children love to share and watch other people’s humor. And although Tik Tok can be a time waster  it puts a smile on a lot of people’s faces. 

“I really love making funny videos,” Kim said. “It’s a really funny source of entertainment for our age group.”

English teacher Kandice Trujillo also seems to be an advocate of Tik Tok. She highlights the ability of these “Tik-Tokers” to make creative videos in such a short amount of time which shines a light on the more positive and intelligent sides of Tik Tok. 

“[Tik Tok] gives young people a creative outlet to express themselves through dancing and comedy,” English teacher Kandice Trujillo said. “Due to the time constraints, people have to deliver a product in a concise and interesting way which takes skill.”

Fellow advocates of Tik Tok believe that Tik Tok is an extremely beneficial outlet for creativity for kids. Because the teenagers of this generation have access to the technical advancements of social media, the ability to express and share their creativity is at their fingertips. In most cases this would be a positive impact but the availability of sharing and reposting can be infectious.

“I think that Tik Tok has both negatively and positively impacted society,” sophomore Ivan Diaz said.

Diaz had also gained a considerable amount of followers on Tik Tok over the summer. He acknowledges that Tik Tok can turn into a place for hate. Because Tik Tok’s gain fame by the amount of likes it has or how many shares it has, Tik Tok’s can spread because they’re being made fun of.

 “The negative side of it would be that it gives people the opportunity to make fun of others,” Diaz said.

The general consensus over Tik Tok is that it’s a positive place for comedy and creativity. Although the app still contains some cringey brace-faced pre-teens dancing to foul songs, they are outshined by the talent, comedy, creativity, and intelligence that is recognized by Tik Tok watchers across the globe.