It has been over two years since TikTok arrived in the United States in August 2018, offering a rejoinder to anyone who thought social media had lost its way. The app had it all: social commentary, comedy, crafts, memes, challenges, makeup tutorials and, of course, dances. Even those who were not entirely convinced of this could not avoid the videos, which proliferated on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
In April 2020, TikTok was downloaded more than 2 billion times; in the fall, it had about 850 million monthly active users.
Despite the growth in size and scope, the uninitiated still see the app as a tool for other, much younger people to use. “TikTok is a children’s dance app, where children upload videos of themselves dancing, which children and adults can enjoy,” joked comedian Nathan Fielder recently. While it is true that TikTok has transformed the culture of online dance, the platform has become more widely a rich social and entertainment network. And in 2020, there was hardly a corner of society that he didn’t touch.
He turned entertainment upside down
The most obvious impact of TikTok can be seen in the entertainment world. “More than any other social network since MySpace, it feels like a new experience, the emergence of a different type of technology and a different way of consuming media,” wrote journalist Kyle Chayka in November.
The main responsible for the exclusivity of the TikTok viewing experience is the For you page, a feed programmed by algorithms that provides the content that you are likely to find engaging. You don’t have to follow or be followed by a single person to see the videos you want, or for your videos to be seen by the target audience, which has given many people a rapid rise to fame. In 2020 alone, top users like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Easterling have accumulated tens of millions of followers and have become household names. The D’Amelios even got a Hulu show.
The app also reinvigorated the music industry and became a place to discover talent, market new music, collaboratively produce new music and mix tracks.
He shaped buying behavior
TikTok had an undeniable effect on what people wear and buy. In 2020, TikTokers appeared in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Prada, signed with agencies like IMG Models and modeled trends (think of cottagecore and the strawberry dress). Gucci leaned in to a challenge that taught people to style items in their wardrobes to look like Alessandro Michele’s catwalk models. (If you have a scarf on your head, a high collar and some brightly colored accessories, you’re halfway there.) The mass-market brands have also lined up with influencers; Hype House goods, for example, are sold at Target.
“It goes beyond clothes and creative expression,” Kudzi Chikumbu, the director of the TikTok creative community, told Vogue.com in December. “TikTok is a place of joy and is giving the fashion industry a whole new way to showcase its art and personality.”
While physical storefronts were closed in the first months of the pandemic, new brands and stores emerged on TikTok, using the platform to drive online orders. Vintage retailers use TikTok to sell their products and reinvigorate old styles. Major retailers like Sephora, Dunkin ‘and GameStop have even encouraged their employees to become influencers for TikTok.
He offered a view of the front lines
Service providers were some of the first people to adopt TikTok in 2018 and, in 2020, people had a whole new outlook on their lives. Warehouse workers, fast-food workers and baristas turned to TikTok to give others a glimpse of their lives, sometimes finding involuntary fame along the way. In 2020, many of its industries were hit hard by the pandemic and leveraged TikTok to promote fundraising and relief efforts.
As the coronavirus continued to spread, TikTok also played a key role in public health. Nurses, doctors and other frontline health professionals used TikTok to talk about the risks of contracting Covid-19, explain the importance of wearing a mask and break the misinformation about vaccines. (Many have also documented their vaccines on the platform.)
Patients, patients with coronavirus and other illnesses, chronicled their health journeys and connected with the outside world from their hospital beds.
Helped people to organize and demonstrate
As the Black Lives Matter movement gained support across the country this summer, TikTok became a space where young activists could talk about police brutality, which means being an ally and criminal justice reform, as well as application’s own relationship with black creators.
Political activism was also fruitful in the app. In June, TikTok users organized a campaign to raise public expectations for President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa. The photos of the event showed a sparse crowd, with many empty seats. After the event, Steve Schmidt, a former Republican strategist, wrote on Twitter: “America’s teenagers dealt a wild blow to @realDonaldTrump.”
It gave us trends that affirm life
One of TikTok’s first and most visible trends in 2020 was Renegade, a dance choreographed by Jalaiah Harmon, 15, for the song “Lottery” by rapper K-Camp from Atlanta. The dance, popularized mainly by white influencers, opened a dialogue about black creators and giving credit to those who deserve it.
In 2020, viral food culture migrated from Instagram to TikTok. The platform popularized cereal for pancakes, beaten coffee and carrot bacon. He also helped newbies, like 18-year-old culinary darling Eitan Bernath, to be discovered and taught to millions of people trapped at home during quarantine cooking.
TikTok’s songs and audio tracks provided the soundtrack for 2020. The platform brought new artists out of obscurity at a pace never before seen by the music industry. He brought songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” back into the spotlight and introduced new ones to the mass audience.