Statistics and Effects 

The app Tik Tok has become a global phenomenon, with 500 million active users as of 2019. In 2018, Musical.ly merged with Tik Tok which is a product of the Chinese technology firm Bytedance who bought Musical.ly for $800 million in 2017. Tik Tok has followed in the path of its former name Musical.ly, which had 200 million registered users and 60 million active ones before it shut down. But now TikTok is on the eyes of teenagers around the globe. 41% of Tik Tok users are ages 16-24. The app is clearly trying to appeal to adolescence audiences with crazed dances, comedy routines, etc. Screen time is timed on this app. On apple iPhones there is an option in settings where you can see how much time you spend on apps and your phones. On average people spend 52 minutes a day on TikTok. Whether that be making Tik Toks or scrolling through them. But what about the people making the videos? One of those Tik Tok stars is Charli D’Amelio. She is a 15-year-old girl from Connecticut who has received almost 30 million followers on the app. She has received a new height of popularity, she even appeared in a Super Bowl commercial and got to dance with Jennifer Lopez in a Tik Tok. But this app has its negative effects. Spending a large time on this app can be time wasting and can negatively impact to school, work and other activities. But it gives children a chance to be creative in their video making skills in an effort to “go viral.”

I surveyed three girls at the age of 15 on how much time they spend on Tik Tok and these are the results

Girl #1: 11 hours and 25 minutes in one week

Girl #2: 6 hours and 25 minutes in one week

Girl #3: 9 hours and 36 minutes in one week

Tik Tok Controversies and Dangers 

Tik Tok has faced its share of controversies, in 2019, the U.S. government opened an investigation into a experiment that shows that the company is committing censorship towards videos that may or may not mention Chinese groups like the communist party of China in a negative way and nothing was found or posted by creators about the protests in Hong Kong. Tik Tok could also be a dangerous place for a child- like all social media apps -child predators can easily catfish a child in any form. Children are the most gullible and easiest to persuade. 

Bibliography:

Mohsin, Maryam. “10 TikTok Statistics That You Need to Know in 2020 [Infographic].” Oberlo, 29 Jan. 2020, www.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics.

“How Many Users Does Musical.ly Have? Statistics & Demographics.” Mediakix, 6 Apr. 2018, mediakix.com/blog/how-many-users-does-musical-ly-have/.

Jarvey, Natalie. “Musical.ly Owner Merges App With TikTok.” The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Aug. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/musically-owner-bytedance-merges-app-tiktok-1131630.

Tenbarge, Kat. “Inside the Life of 15-Year-Old Charli D’Amelio, the Most Popular Teen on the Internet Who Rose to Fame after Choreographing TikTok Dances and Joining the Hype House.” Insider, Insider, 4 Feb. 2020, www.insider.com/charli-d-amelio-bio-how-old-tiktok-famous-renegade-super-bowl-2020.

Jennings, Rebecca. “What’s Going on with TikTok, China, and the US Government?” Vox, Vox, 16 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/open-sourced/2019/12/16/21013048/tiktok-china-national-security-investigation.