There's no doubt that TikTok is one of the most used social media platforms of this decade. Most memes and popular trends of the 2020s originate from the app, proving that the influence of its users is nothing short of monumental. With 1.9 billion registered users globally, we're sure you, your children, and your children's children will be living and breathing content on TikTok in the years to come. But it wasn't always this way.
Quick, hilarious content became obsolete with the shutdown of Vine, a social media app with a six-second video time limit, around 2017 thanks to the rise of long-form YouTube content. As YouTube vlogs and AdSense were in their heyday, here came TikTok, which rapidly revived the popularity and demand for short-form content. Disregarding the fact that short-form content is proven to have a lasting impact on attention spans, it was clear: Short-form was back. That was until, in September of 2023, TikTok launched its first e-commerce function on the app, allowing users to shop around for clothes, technology, and other useless gadgets. The introduction of a shoppable feature single-handedly ruined the quality of TikTok content, simply because the most popular content creators are now looking to make a quick buck and promote obsessive consumerism. In turn, this methodology and influence overtook TikTok's consumerist-driven algorithm and left comedy and entertainment as a whole behind.
Quick, hilarious content became obsolete with the shutdown of Vine, a social media app with a six-second video time limit, around 2017 thanks to the rise of long-form YouTube content. As YouTube vlogs and AdSense were in their heyday, here came TikTok, which rapidly revived the popularity and demand for short-form content. Disregarding the fact that short-form content is proven to have a lasting impact on attention spans, it was clear: Short-form was back. That was until, in September of 2023, TikTok launched its first e-commerce function on the app, allowing users to shop around for clothes, technology, and other useless gadgets. The introduction of a shoppable feature single-handedly ruined the quality of TikTok content, simply because the most popular content creators are now looking to make a quick buck and promote obsessive consumerism. In turn, this methodology and influence overtook TikTok's consumerist-driven algorithm and left comedy and entertainment as a whole behind.