TikTok can be a fun and creative platform for kids when used responsibly. However, there are potential risks associated with using the app. Parents should proactively ensure their child’s online safety by setting up parental controls, discussing online safety, and monitoring their child’s usage. According to oberlo.com, Nearly four out of every five (79.5%) TikTok users say it’s why they use the app for news and funny content. Incidentally, being entertained also ranks among the top reasons why people use the internet and social media. The company hosted a survey with results showing that TikTok’s content is what the social network is primarily used for. Nowadays TikTok is more of a resource of “news” to people around the world.
TikTok has sparked concerns over potential user data collection and influence operations by the Chinese government, leading to restrictions and bans in the United States. Critics frequently accuse TikTok of harvesting huge amounts of data. A cyber-security report published in July 2022 by researchers at Internet 2.0, an Australian cyber-company, is often cited as evidence. Researchers studied the app’s source code and reported it carries out “excessive data harvesting”.
TikTok merged with another platform, Musical.ly, on August 2nd, 2018 with existing accounts and data consolidated into one app, keeping the title TikTok. In short, the acquisition and shutdown of Musical.ly was mutually a beneficial deal that allowed ByteDance, the overall company of TikTok, to accelerate TikTok’s growth into one of the world’s most popular social media platforms. Musical.ly was a social media video platform that allowed users to create short lip-sync and comedy videos, just like TikTok, initially released in August 2014.
It was released in September 2016 and was the most downloaded app in the United States in October 2018. As of 2022, TikTok has over 3 billion downloads and over 1 billion active users monthly. From there, TikTok became the most popular app in 2019 and 2020. It was downloaded 693 million times in 2019 and 850 million in 2020. The app was a dancing app and many influencers posted dance content. The app allowed young people to be used as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing, allowing users to create videos and share them across a community.