TikTok Background Story
TikTok is one of the top video social sharing site that accommodates over one billion active monthly users worldwide as at Q4 2022, according to MarketWatch.
The site came into existence in 2016 and since then has been growing rapidly to compete with others like YouTube and Instagram.
Known as Douyin in China, it was owned by Bytedance, a Chinese firm.
TikTok, unlike other social platforms, allow its users to upload video clips that ranges from three seconds to ten minutes.
TikTok can be downloaded on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. There are no restrictions whatsoever in using the app.
To create an account, you must have an active email (a verification code will be sent for authentication) or an active phone number.
TikTok only allow video upload and video sharing - other media are not supported.
My Story
Well, I found myself using TikTok for the first time earlier this month after nearly seven years of its existence.
As a content creator that focus on "writing" and "graphics" as his major, I've never really deal much with video creation, so, I tend to pass.
My experience using the platform was not a fancy one, but I still learn some things during my short period there.
It is not everyone that's got the time to spend watching random videos on online social platforms everyday.
Some of us are busy with our lives in the hope of turning our worst past into a better future. Some of us are busy trying to figure out how to make a lemonade out of our lemons.
It is shocking to see the amount of time some people spend on social media everyday, most especially on TikTok.
While I'm not here to criticize (because I believe in learning), I was bamboozled by the amount of clips that I watched in my short stay there.
It happened that I created a short video clip of some of the macro photos I took, and I decided to give TikTok a try after posting it on YouTube.
Not wanting to download the app, I went to tiktok.com to register. Apparently, the site knew from my IP address that I was from Nigeria.
After the site loaded on my chrome browser, the first thing I was forced to watch before doing anything was a clip of one nigerian guy nodding his head to a phone call made by a lady.
I haven't even sign up or verify my account before TikTok began to slam random useless videos on my face.
In my anger, I clicked the sign-up button and entered my phone number for account creation. A short code was sent to my number for verification, which I entered.
After this, I was asked to provide my full name and to chose my username, which I did.
Hoping that I'll be able to upload my video after creating an account, I was disappointed with the next thing I saw.
I thought I'll be able to upload my video on TikTok website without having to use their app, unfortunately, I was wrong.
It was then that I realized that you need TikTok app to create, upload, and to edit video, as this cannot be done on their website.
In frustration, I went to the Play Store to download the app and install it on my phone. I launched it from the app drawer, and boom! Another useless skit started to play, which I had no control over.
In the one minute short clip, the guy was showing various dance steps in awkward ways. The clip does not even made sense.
I sigh.
Since TikTok allow anyone and everyone with a camera to upload on its platform, it shouldn't be a surprise to see meaningless, useless, purposeless videos scattered all over the place.
In pursuit of fame and hail, glory and money, a lot of people have become obsessed in creating vague content just to gain followers.
I proceeded to the sign in page, but was again asked to verify my phone number. I just did that few minutes ago, I said to myself.
I entered my number and a short verification code was sent through a text message, which I entered on the sign in page. Obviously, TikTok seem to take its security seriously.
After I successfully logged in, another random short video skit was again slammed on my face for me to watch.
If there is one thing I detest about TikTok, it is that you have no control over the videos that are loaded for you to watch.
The firm do the sorting using some sort of AI.
Also, autoplay is enabled by default and cannot be disabled.
The AI learn your pattern as you use the platform and then curate content based on your interest. So, the more you use it the better it will get in knowing what you like watching.
But since I was a new user, it had a hard time figuring out what may interest me.
Finally, I was able to upload the video under my username. After making sure that everything was okay, I proceeded to complete my profile.
I noticed that few of my friends were already using TikTok, so I decided to follow them. However, whenever I clicked the "follow" button under their name, it does nothing.
After several attempt, I gave up. It may be a bug or something like that.
Anyway, after doing everything I intended to do, I closed the app.
Other Observations
TikTok app is very heavy. It needed a phone with powerful processor and high amount of RAM to work smoothly and perfectly.
It will be a slow uncomfortable ride if you use any phone that has less than 6GB RAM to access TikTok. Your experience will be frustrating.
Another thing I noticed is that you need a very stable internet connection to get the best out of it.
TikTok is a battery drainer, that's why you need a phone that has good battery capacity if you intend to use it for long hours.
Moreover, be ready to subscribe for huge amount of mobile data as small data will be lashed out within few minutes, even if you are not doing anything.
Conclusion
TikTok is a good app that has a good intention of bringing people of diverse culture together. The app is open for all to use for free at no cost.
It takes only few minutes to create an account and to begin to post content, although, there are few limitations in using the app, such as the inability to post long videos.
TitTok supports live-streaming, which some people will find very useful. However, like other social media platforms, it is open to abuse.
Furthermore, the requirements needed for using the app are low. Thankfully, the firm is beefing up its restrictions for underage, which is a welcome development.
I believe it can be better.
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