TikTok Losing Popularity? by Carter Dalton
As we all know, TikTok has seen a very significant growth in popularity over the past few years. However, today's younger generations don't seem as interested in using it. In 2021, TikTok had approximately 656 million global users, while this year there are only 1.677 million users globally. There are a list of potential reasons for this downward spiral of popularity.
First off, 47.4% of TikTok users are under 30, and people may just be growing out of the app. Another reason could be the increasing amount of cyber bullying. Many of the videos posted on the TikTok platform are subjected to cyberbullying because of the easy access unsupervised children and childish adults have to it.
Since the decrease in usage, producers have come up with a new TikTok algorithm to make the app more appealing and personalized to you. Algorithms are a key way social networks draw us in and keep us paying attention. TikTok doesn’t want spammers and other shady characters to be able to hack the algorithm to get more attention than they deserve. Much like the Instagram algorithm, the TikTok algorithm bases recommended videos on a user’s interactions with content on the app. What kind of interactions? Anything that offers clues about the kind of content the user likes or doesn’t like.
TikTok bases recommended videos even on the tiny things you do in the app. Things like comments you’ve posted, creators or sounds you’ve chosen to hide, videos you’ve liked or shared on the app, videos you’ve added to your favorites, videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested”, videos you’ve reported as inappropriate. Everything you do on the app is tracked, reported, and categorized. Although this gives the user a more personalized experience, many people feel like the new algorithm may be too invasive.
First off, 47.4% of TikTok users are under 30, and people may just be growing out of the app. Another reason could be the increasing amount of cyber bullying. Many of the videos posted on the TikTok platform are subjected to cyberbullying because of the easy access unsupervised children and childish adults have to it.
Since the decrease in usage, producers have come up with a new TikTok algorithm to make the app more appealing and personalized to you. Algorithms are a key way social networks draw us in and keep us paying attention. TikTok doesn’t want spammers and other shady characters to be able to hack the algorithm to get more attention than they deserve. Much like the Instagram algorithm, the TikTok algorithm bases recommended videos on a user’s interactions with content on the app. What kind of interactions? Anything that offers clues about the kind of content the user likes or doesn’t like.
TikTok bases recommended videos even on the tiny things you do in the app. Things like comments you’ve posted, creators or sounds you’ve chosen to hide, videos you’ve liked or shared on the app, videos you’ve added to your favorites, videos you’ve marked as “Not Interested”, videos you’ve reported as inappropriate. Everything you do on the app is tracked, reported, and categorized. Although this gives the user a more personalized experience, many people feel like the new algorithm may be too invasive.