Diffusion of Innovations

Tiktok is taking the world by an absolute storm. It has become one of the fastest-growing apps worldwide, and a global viral phenomenon. Tiktok is a video-sharing-focused social networking service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Tiktok was released in September 2016 to replace the app known as "musical.ly". Tiktok promotes creativity you can share everything from dance to comedy to even something educational. 

If you looked at the rise of Tiktok and applied it to Roger's Diffusion of Innovations graph the categories would look something like this: 

Pioneers & Innovators = Musers

Early Adopters = Millennials and Gen Z 

Early Majority = People who got videos sent to them 

Late Adopters = People who preferred other social media apps 

Laggers = Older Generations

Musers

The urban dictionary defines a muser as "someone who made musical.lys and now use's TikTok". They were the first group of people to make the immediate switch to TikTok because many were making money from the videos they made. Personally, I fit into this category. I originally owned musical.ly and switched to TikTok when it got released. Although many musical.ly creators are less popular, you could say they were the trendsetters. 

Millennials and Gen Z 

TikTok targets this age group so it is only fitting that they are the early adopters. In our generation, if a trend starts everyone will start to hop on it. This is how TikTok became popular. Millennials and Gen Z are able to understand all the content that is created on this app. Once people became more comfortable with the app they started to create their own videos. This all spiraled into many people becoming early adopters. It is also the easiest for Gen Z to spread and promote this app to others around them. 

People Who Got Videos Sent to Them 

As TikTok started to rise in popularity, it was almost unheard of to not know what the app was. Everyone was getting videos sent to them by their friends and family. According to Statista, there are now over 65.9 million TikTok users in the United States. Even if you don't create videos you contribute to the early majority by hopping on the app and watching hundreds on TikToks a day. During the pandemic, TikTok served as one of the many ways to communicate with strangers from around the world. This is why people who get videos sent to them are the early majority. 

People Who Preferred Other Social Media Apps 

Some people were late adopters because of how many social media applications are out today. Many of them can accomplish the same thing, so people don't download more than one. For instance, Instagram has a "for you" page similar to TikTok that shows your post and videos of people you follow. They have also since updated the app to include a "reel" which is shorts videos just like TikTok but on Instagram. Snapchat has also added this feature to its app. Because all these apps now have the same function the interest in downloading TikTok is not as popular. 

Older Generations 

With TikTok being a relatively new app, the older generations are not as caught up on how it works. This could be because they don't even own a phone capable of downloading the application. On top of that, there are often times generational differences that cause the varying ages to not understand what others find humorous, thus the older generation may steer clear of this more youthful craze.

As with any app that is created there are positives and negatives. TikTok is commonly described as the "ultimate time killer and very addictive because it never runs out of content." Meaning that many will procrastinate work and other responsibilities just to stay on the app. TikTok can be horrible for the younger generation's mental health as there is a lot of cyberbullying on the app. Popularity on the app is based mainly on looks which can very be objectifying for women. Lastly, when you create an account it is automatically set to public. This begs the question of how much privacy there is on this app. In addition, it is completely managed by foreign companies which also hints at data sharing. That is the sole reason why in 2020 Trump tried to issue a ban on the app.

However, there are some positives to using the app. It is a fast way to meet new people and even learn new things. TikTok can be very educational if you follow the right users. If you want to express an original idea TikTok is the place to do it with ease. The app features many ways to easily edit content to produce the video you want. TikTok has also been found to boost people's moods because of the funny content found throughout the app. Lastly, it is a great app for spreading information to the majority of the public. Many young adults were able to keep up with what was happening during the 2020 election because TikTok users would update their profiles every day with new videos about what was happening. It has also been found to aid in the capture of criminals. For example, many TikTok users are helping with the missing person case of Gabby Petito. In conclusion, many choose not to use the app because the cons do outweigh the pros. People who don't have TikTok are shown to be more productive and have higher attention spans. 

Personally, I have never regretted downloading the app. I do believe that I spend way too much time scrolling pointlessly through videos, but that is a topic for another discussion. As Gen Z my attention span is extremely short so TikTok is able to catch my attention immediately. I am always amused at how funny and original some creators can be. A simple 60-second video is able to turn a bad day into me laughing nonstop. I also find the app to help me decompress from the stress that could be going on in my life. TikTok has also helped me on my journey with working out. There are many creators who share tips and specific workouts to help others. Additionally, I am always able to find new clothing places to shop, how-to DIY something, or even how to cook. TikTok to me has been beyond helpful and worth the time I spend on it. However, this is my opinion and not everyone has had an amazing experience with this app. So whether you choose to download it or not, go into downloading new applications with an open mind. It is also important to understand why people download apps at different times and Roger's Diffusion of Innovations can help you.