Bernadette Fallon has been a journalist and editor for over 20 years and has worked for some of the most famous media brands in the world, including The Times and Good Housekeeping, as well as leading organisations such as Rolls-Royce and the Knowledge Transfer Network. She is the author of several travel and design books, published in the UK and internationally.

Ever seen someone do a triangle dance, put make-up on a potato, or take part in a ‘pose challenge’? These seemingly unconnected hijinks share a common thread – they’re viral sensations on TikTok, the short-form video app that offers a window into contemporary youth culture. With more than 500 million users in 154 countries (a third of whom use it daily), how did a platform that initially revolved around lip-syncing videos become a social media force to be reckoned with? 

TikTok (formerly known as Douyin) amassed 100 million users within a year of launching in China in 2016 – an early hint of the app’s viral appeal. 

 The videos on the platform are easily recognisable: 15- to 60-second clips set to music, often featuring someone lip-synching, dancing or doing a trick, with the TikTok logo overlaid on top. “TikTok often presents an alternative version of online sharing. Simple, goofy, irreverent – and frankly, it’s a much needed reset,” writes Sarah Perez for TechCrunch. “Its main feed often surfaces everyday users – aka, amateurs – doing something cute, funny or clever, with a tacit acknowledgement that ‘yes, this is an internet joke’ underlying much of the content.” 

“Unlike other video creating apps, you don’t need to have a lot to say or have a specific idea,” says Martine Oglethorpe, the creator of 

. “The level of skill, talent or creativity for participation is relatively low.” The ease of use is also a big draw. Once a user has downloaded the app, they’re in, with no need to sign up and instant access to content. “It combines social networking, pop culture and music, allowing users to create their own version of popular culture,” Oglethorpe adds. 

For the most part, TikTok has taken hold among Gen Zers, with Ape App Lab estimating that teens and 20-somethings make up two-thirds of its user base. 

 But the ‘typical’ user is harder to pin down. Following his exploration of the platform, New York-based artist Joseph Citarella found “an American user base that is a diverse composition of subcultures, roughly construed as gamers, cosplayers, troops, and teen influencers.” 

 Chat show host Jimmy Kimmel helped fuelled its rise in the mainstream through the 

 highlighted its popularity among nurses, firefighters, and members of the military, many of whom create videos to show off their physical skills or sense of humour. 

Popularised by Snapchat and Vine, super-short videos have become popular across social media platforms. These seconds-long clips cater to 

 and have resulted in the emergence of a new comedy niche. “Vine was all about the economy of seconds: how much physical humour, how many comedic turns, how satisfying a story arc could be squished into a six-and-a-half second video?” writes Jonah Engel Bromwich for 

 While 52% of Gen Zers say they’re more likely to watch a video all the way through if it’s funny, 43% will do so simply because it’s short – making TikTok and its predecessors tailor-made for their viewing habits. 

While some social media users may baulk at a blank recording screen, TikTok is designed to provide inspiration without intimidation. Zeroing in on how 62% of Gen Zers feel more comfortable expressing themselves digitally than in person, the app aims to spark – rather than simply host – creative expression. 

 With ready-to-use music and video clips, along with options to collaborate on videos remotely or respond to challenge prompts, it offers a more flexible form of content creation beyond the AR filters that dominate platforms such as Snapchat.

Unlike other video creating apps, you don’t need to have a lot to say or have a specific idea. The level of skill, talent or creativity for participation is relatively low

People aren’t just using TikTok for entertainment – they’re also turning to it to learn. Posts featuring the hashtag #tutorial have been viewed more than six billion times as people share clips to teach others new dance moves and skills. This ties into video being Gen Z’s chosen learning medium, even at school – 59% say they’d prefer to learn from YouTube videos over in-person activities or printed books. 

 “Gen Z students are social learners, meaning that they like to learn in the presence of others,” says Dr. Corey Seemiller, a professor at Wright State University. “However, many do not enjoy interpersonal learning where they learn in conjunction with others… Many enjoy the community of learning, but not having their learning interdependent with others’ academic preparedness and success.” 

The app’s social element may be a salve for Gen Zers, who index higher in loneliness than any previous generation. 

 TikTok’s duet feature, which allows one person to riff on another’s video, encourages online friendships to blossom organically. “You can make stuff for your friends, or in response to your friends, sure. But users looking for something to post about are immediately recruited into group challenges, or hashtags, or shown popular songs,” writes journalist John Herrman. “The bar is low. The stakes are low. Large audiences feel within reach, and smaller ones are easy to find, even if you’re just messing around.” 

Gen Zers are keen to feel a sense of digital community

TikTok’s short video medium is perfect for the type of absurdist humour that has become the hallmark of Gen Zers. Viral figures like 

 drip with wry humour and irony, with the platform’s challenges serve up comedic variations on ever-changing themes. “Scrolling through video after video on TikTok, I realised that these trends are reflected in the content Gen Z creates,” writes Citarella. “The majority are abandoning the personal brand in favour of fluid identity play. On TikTok, the popular use of masks or covering one’s face with a hoodie or dark glasses marks the beginnings of something Monahan, an artist and writer, describes as ‘post-selfie culture.’” 

 In this digital environment, being silly is more than okay – it’s a rebellion against the hyper-curated lives of Instagram.

As well as generating laughs and gasps from audiences, challenges allow fans from all over the world to participate in wider conversations. The best content occurs when users collaborate and, as Citarella points out, Gen Zers “only want to join in the interpersonal fabric of memetic activity and savour the last bit of human connection left on our cold, data-collecting, psychographic-profiling platforms. Making TikTok videos is linking oneself to the cultural duet chain.” 

 TikTok isn’t the only app tapping into collaborative, alone-together social networks. 

 is a screen-sharing app that keeps existing social groups close, allowing them to do activities normally restricted to the privacy of a single phone screen – from picking out a selfie to swiping on dates – together.

For some TikTok users, part of the appeal could be the lack of overt brand presence. Considering that it’s an enormous network of inside jokes, reactions, and reactions to reactions, it’s still populated by mostly organic content. However, it has been used for marketing campaigns, firstly by Guess – which launched the first promoted hashtag challenge on the platform in the US in September 2018 – and also 

 Companies that are accustomed to marketing on Snapchat and Instagram Stories could easily apply their assets to TikTok as long as they fit with its participatory nature. But with rapid, off-the-cuff content that relies on irreverent parodies and remixes, it’s a challenge for brands that would typically seek total control over their messaging. “The risk of launching a campaign only for it to be mocked and ‘Frankensteined’ through a proliferation of savage memes – as Pepsi's Black Lives Matter-inspired Kendall Jenner promotion was – will likely have brands looking twice before they leap,” notes journalist Natasha Gillezeau. 

Martine Oglethorpe is an educator, counsellor and reviewer. She runs The Modern Parent, where she shares advice on digital wellbeing and online safety with families.

Gen Z (born 1997-2010)

Communications

Social media

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Vine and Snapchat may have popularised the short video format on social platforms, but TikTok has broadened the medium’s potential, allowing users to join viral crazes with just their phones. As Gen Z’s attention spans shrink, the app offers an easy way to participate in a wider digital community.

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