For You Page by Madison Dean
In the last ten years, social media platforms have risen in popularity and usefulness. From LinkedIn to Instagram, people around the world can connect with one another whenever they please. Creators on platforms such as YouTube are able to make a living from posting content online. Becoming a successful content creator takes time and dedication. TikTok is one app in particular that gives regular people around the world the chance to make it big. TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. It started as an app called “Musical.ly.” This app was widely used by younger audiences to lip sync and dance to songs. After being bought out by ByteDance Ltd. in 2017, Musical. ly was merged with its app TikTok, creating the digital phenomenon it is today. Currently, TikTok has the same amount of video diversity that YouTube does. Users can watch curated content ranging from how-to tutorials to dancing to Vine-like funny videos. The options on the app are pretty much endless. The one aspect that sets TikTok apart from other platforms is its algorithm. The algorithm gives anyone, even the smallest accounts, a chance to go viral and gain followers. Lily Thompson, a freshman elementary education major, 6 | Bod Magazine
went viral on the app in October 2020. Thompson started TikTok in August of 2019 and has had other videos receive impressive attention, but nothing compared to the video she posted in October.
“[It] was successful compared to my other TikToks. While the number is still growing, I currently have over 1.3 million views and 244,500 likes,” said Thompson. Thompson’s viral TikTok shows
