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More than two years have passed since TikTok arrived in the United States in August 2018, offering a reply to anyone who thought social media was lost. The app had it all: social commentary, comedy, crafts, memes, challenges, makeup tutorials, and of course, dancing. Even those who weren’t totally convinced couldn’t avoid the videos, which proliferated 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 monthly active users.
Despite its growth in size and scope, the uninitiated still see the app as a tool for other, much younger people to use. “TikTok is a dance app for kids, where kids will upload videos of themselves dancing that kids and adults can enjoy,” comedian Nathan Fielder recently joked. While it is true that TikTok has transformed the culture of dance online, the platform has become a broad social and entertainment network. And in 2020, there was hardly a corner of society that it did not touch.
Turned entertainment on its head
The most obvious impact of TikTok can be seen in the world of entertainment. “More than any other social network since Myspace, it feels like a new experience, the emergence of a different kind of technology and a different way of consuming media,” wrote journalist Kyle Chayka in November.
Primarily responsible for the uniqueness of the TikTok viewing experience is the For You page, an algorithmically programmed feed that brings you content that you are likely to find engaging. You don’t need to follow or be followed by a single person to see the videos you want to watch, or to have your videos seen by your target audience, which has given many people a rapid rise to fame. In 2020 alone, top users like Charli and Dixie D’Amelio and Addison Easterling amassed tens of millions of followers and became household names. The D’Amelios even got a show on Hulu.
The app has also reinvigorated the music industry, becoming a place to discover talent, market new songs, collaboratively produce new music, and mix tracks.
Shaped buying behavior
TikTok has had an undeniable effect on what people use and buy. In 2020, TikTokers appeared in campaigns for Louis Vuitton and Prada, signed with agencies like IMG Models, and shaped trends (think cottagecore and the strawberry dress). Gucci leaned toward a challenge that taught people how to design items in their wardrobes to look like Alessandro Michele’s runway models. (If you have a headscarf, high neck, and some brightly colored accessories, you’re halfway there.) Mass market brands have also aligned themselves with influencers; Hype House merchandise, for example, is sold at Target.
“It goes beyond outfits and creative expression,” Kudzi Chikumbu, director of the TikTok creator community, told Vogue.com in December. “TikTok is a place for joy and is giving the fashion industry a whole new way to showcase its art and personality.”
While brick-and-mortar stores were closed in the early months of the pandemic, new brands and stores appeared on TikTok, which used the platform to drive online orders. Vintage resellers use TikTok to sell their products and revitalize old styles. Major retailers like Sephora, Dunkin ‘, and GameStop even encouraged their employees to become TikTok influencers.
It offered a view of the front
Service workers were some of the first people to adopt TikTok in 2018, and in 2020 people got a whole new view of their lives. Warehouse workers, fast food employees, and baristas turned to TikTok to give others a glimpse into their lives, sometimes encountering unintentional fame along the way. In 2020, many of their industries were severely affected by the pandemic and took advantage of TikTok to promote fundraising and relief efforts.
As the coronavirus continued to spread, TikTok also played a key role in public health. Nurses, doctors, and other front-line healthcare workers used TikTok to discuss the risks of contracting Covid-19, explain the importance of wearing face masks, and discuss misinformation about vaccines. (Many have also documented their vaccinations on the platform.)
Patients, sick with coronavirus and other illnesses, have chronicled their health journeys and connected to the outside world from their hospital beds.
Helped people organize and express themselves
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, what it means to be an ally and criminal justice reform, as well as the app’s own relationship with black creators.
Political activism has also been fruitful in the application. In June, TikTok users organized a campaign to inflate expectations of attending President Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa. Photographs from the event showed a sparse crowd, with many empty seats. After the event, Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist, wrote on Twitter: “America’s teens have dealt a savage blow against @realDonaldTrump.”
Gave us life-affirming trends
One of the first and most visible trends on TikTok in 2020 was Renegade, a dance choreographed by 15-year-old Jalaiah Harmon to the Atlanta rapper K-Camp’s song “Lottery.” The dance, popularized mainly by white influencers, opened a dialogue about black creators and gave credit where appropriate.
In 2020, viral food culture migrated from Instagram to TikTok. The platform popularized pancake cereal, smoothie coffee, and carrot bacon. He also helped newcomers like 18-year-old culinary beloved Eitan Bernath get discovered and taught millions trapped at home during quarantine how to cook.
TikTok’s songs and audio tracks provided the soundtrack for 2020. The platform brought new artists out of obscurity at a pace never before seen by the music industry. He brought back songs like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and introduced new ones to a mass audience.
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