It’s been more than two years since TikTok arrived in the United States in August 2018, and offers a duplicate 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 dancing. Even those who were not completely sold could not avoid the videos that were distributed on platforms like Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
By April 2020, TikTok had been downloaded more than 2 billion times; in the fall, it had an estimated 850 million active users.
Despite the growth in size and scope, the uninitiated still consider the app largely as a tool for other, much younger people to use. “TikTok is a kids’ dance app, where kids will upload videos of dances that kids and adults can enjoy,” comedian Nathan Fielder recently joked. While it is true that TikTok has changed the dance culture online, the platform has generally become a rich social and entertainment network. And in 2020, there was hardly a corner of society that it did not touch.
It turned entertainment on its head
TikTok’s most obvious impact can be seen in the world of entertainment. “More than any other social network since Myspace, it feels like a new experience, the rise of a different kind of technology and a different way of consuming media,” journalist Kyle Chayka wrote in November.
The For You page is primarily responsible for the uniqueness of the TikTok viewing experience, an algorithmically programmed feed that provides you with content that you are likely to find appealing. You do not have to be followed or followed by one person to see the videos you want to see, or to have your videos viewed by their intended audience, which has quickly made many people famous. In 2020 alone, top users like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Easterling gathered tens of millions of followers and became household names. The D’Amelios even put on a Hulu performance.
The app has also revamped the music industry and become a place to discover talent, market new songs, produce new music together and mix tracks.
It took the form of shopping behavior
TikTok has had an unmistakable effect on what people wear and buy. In 2020, TikTokers will appear in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Prada, signed with agencies such as IMG Models and shaping trends (think of cottagecore and the strawberry dress). Gucci leans in a challenge that has taught people how to style items in their closets to look like Alessandro Michele’s runway models. (If you have a headscarf, a turtleneck sweater and some brightly colored accessories, you are halfway there.) Brands in the mass market have also matched influencers; Hype House merchandise, for example, is sold at Target.
“It goes beyond the outfits and creative expression,” Kudzi Chikumbu, the director of creative community at TikTok, told Vogue.com in December. “TikTok is a place of joy and it offers the fashion industry a new way to showcase their art and personality.”
While physical store windows were closed in the early months of the pandemic, new brands and stores appeared on TikTok and used the platform to drive online orders. Vintage sellers use TikTok to sell their wares and revitalize old styles. Big retailers like Sephora, Dunkin ‘and GameStop have even encouraged their employees to become TikTok influencers.
It offers a view of the front lines
Service workers were among the first people to adopt TikTok in 2018, and in 2020, people got a new image of their lives. Warehouse workers, fast food workers and baristas turned to TikTok to give others a glimpse into their lives and sometimes find unintended fame. In 2020, many of their industries were hit hard by the pandemic and they used TikTok to promote fundraising and relief efforts.
As the coronavirus spread further, TikTok also played an important role in public health. Nurses, doctors, and other health professionals at the forefront have used TikTok to talk about the risks of Covid-19, to explain the importance of masking, and to break down misinformation about vaccines. (Many have also documented their vaccinations on the platform.)
Patients, who are sick with coronavirus and other diseases, have checked their health journeys from their hospital beds and connected with the outside world.
It helped people organize and talk
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 reform, as well as the app’s own relationship to black creators.
Political activism was also fruitful on the app. In June, TikTok users organized a campaign to inflate attendance expectations for President Trump’s campaign in Tulsa. Photos of the event showed a sparse crowd with lots of empty seats. After the event, Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist, posted on Twitter: “America’s teens beat up @realDonaldTrump.”
It gave us life-affirming trends
One of the earliest and most visible trends on TikTok in 2020 was the Renegade, a dance choreographed by Jalaiah Harmon (15) for the song “Lottery” by Atlanta rapper K-Camp. The dance, which was especially popular with white influencers, opened a dialogue about black creators and gave credit where it belonged.
In 2020, the viral food culture migrated from Instagram to TikTok. The platform populared pancake cereal, whipped coffee and carrot bacon. It has also helped emerging people, such as 18-year-old boyfriend Eitan Bernath, to be discovered and teach millions of people sitting at home during quarantine how to cook.
TikTok songs and soundtracks provide the soundtrack until 2020. The platform has taken new artists out of the darkness at a pace the music industry has never seen before. It put songs like Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams “back in the spotlight and introduced new ones to mass audiences.