The A-Zs that rocked 2021: TikTok gets bigger
SINGAPORE - Known for its short, snazzy clips, video-sharing app TikTok has seen its user base grow this year, hitting a billion active global users in September - securing its place among the biggest social networking apps in the world.
https://www.tiktok.com/@ririn.1999?_t=8VHuKtlRb0s&_r=1
An international version of Douyin, which was released in the Chinese market in 2016, TikTok became available worldwide around two years later.
The app allows users to post videos up to three minutes long, and is reportedly allowing some users to upload videos of up to five minutes long.
Open it and you will be hit by a whirlwind of challenges as well as music, dance and comedy clips. They range from stylishly shot sequences to grainy on-camera confessions by teenagers in their bedrooms.
Many videos feature background music, filters, effects and segments which are sped up or slowed down. Want to have little red hearts adorning the tips of your fingers while you strike cute poses? There is an effect for that.
Dancing, posing and talking to the camera are very common in TikTok videos. So are lip-syncing, pranks, stunts and jokes.
But it is not all fluff and for laughs. There is also instructive content, such as cooking demonstrations and beauty tutorials.
According to market tracker Statistica, TikTok's user base in Singapore this year is estimated to be around 2.09 million users. Reports also note that the app is especially popular among Gen Zers, who are born between 1997 and 2012.
The platform has made stars out of users such as American social media personality and dancer Charli D'Amelio, who posts dance videos to trending songs. The 17-year-old is the most-followed individual on the platform, with more than 130 million fans.
This year, the teenager and her family got their own reality series, The D'Amelio Show, which premiered in September and follows how they navigate their sudden rise to fame. The first season ran for eight episodes and the series has been renewed for a second instalment.
The app has attracted many celebrities to join this year, such as American pop princess Taylor Swift, Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne and singing legend Cher.