TikTok is now ranked as the seventh most popular domain, putting Google and other platforms behind it.
The app is owned by the Chinese company Bytedance. In September of 2020, former President Donald Trump attempted to ban the popular app for security reasons.
TikTok has made an impact on college students due to its content. It is a social media platform made for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. The app allows users to express themselves to a community of other people. With the app being made for a younger audience, it can often be seen on the phones of college students everywhere.
In a poll created by Tech students, 83.8% of students said they use the app, 17.6% said they use it for more than two hours a day, and 28.4% said TikTok is their most viewed social media app. The platform became very popular during the midst of the pandemic in 2020.
Tech student Sydney Cables shared how often she uses the app.
“I spend an average of around an hour and a half a day on TikTok,” Cable said. “It is not something that I give all my time to, but in the morning when I get up, I will scroll for a few minutes. At my lunch breaks, I will scroll for a few minutes, and before I go to bed, I will scroll for a few minutes.”
Eighty-two percent of students say boredom and entertainment is the reason why they use the app. It’s easy to get caught up for hours watching funny videos people put on the internet, but is it all just a waste of time?
“TikTok has given me great ideas for my wedding coming up and I love it for the DIY’s so it doesn’t feel like a complete waste,” Cable explained.
Tech sophomore Dylan Roberts gave more insight about the app.
“It is definitely one of my most used apps on my phone,” Roberts said. “I find myself needing to get tasks done and missing opportunities to do them because of the app.”
As of now, TikTok remains one of the most popular social media platforms on campus.