Thread by @alltalk

I used to think similarly about #Tiktok until a few months back. But having studied the platform in-depth, have come to disagree with the view that it’s a ticking time bomb. It’s as much a problem as any other social media platform .. will share my 2 cents..
#Digitalconsumers

https://twitter.com/MashraniVivek/status/1223105726052102146

When #TikTok acquired Musically and became the behemoth that it is today, nobody expected it to do so well and so quickly ! The platforms growth has been phenomenal ... so much so that Zuckerberg spent time discussing it in his shareholder meetings..

Why the platform does sooo well in India (and globally) has multiple reasons ...

1) Most social media apps started with a small user base, who eventually became big (influences) and started disseminating info and views to a larger base of followers / fans / users. Not TikTok!

From the very beginning, TikTok was democratic , in the sense that it had user generated content... you didn’t need to know anyone or be a celebrity urself to amass followers here. So regular people like us created everyday content and grew in stature

2) while many of us urban social media users may think that TikTok is low brow and ridiculous and cheee and yukk and what not, there’s a middle and bottom of the pyramid that’s embraced the platform ... why is that? Language! Or the lack of it

#Tiktok doesn’t require you to be English medium educated! In a country like ours where the vast majority speaks in regional languages , can u imagine the absolute freedom this platform offers for self expression?!

3) every social media requires some filtering ... E.g Instagram.. d pictures r stunning n oh so out of d world ! One is compelled 2 share only well edited and curated pictures on d app.. same applies to Facebook and twitter ... in a way, your most posh version is shared on these

Again, not w TikTok! U r free to post what ever u like .. TikTok users may generate low brow n ridiculous content ..their most unflattering videos.. take potshots at themselves n others.. n this is what makes the platform so authentic! There’s no pressure and nobody’s judging

imagine being on a platform tat allows U to be Tall, short, thin, fair, dark, obese, ugly, physically challenged , linguistically handicapped, uneducated n rustic, unkempt n so on ... that’s the draw of d platform!

That’s the core reason thousands of people... from housemaids to cab drivers to daily wage labourers and watchmen to school dropouts and transgender to vernacular educated and people in their 60s and above have taken to the platform.. You can be Anyone AND it’s okay!

I would highly recommend spending a some time on the app, keeping your personal biases aside ... and you will see lawyers doctors actors mothers teens engineers MBAs teachers producing some very good content!

You will find women from rural areas cooking on stove, cutting wood, working in farms AND also dancing to English Pop music and participating in #SwagStepChallenge

Don’t say that’s not cool!

You will find small roadside paan beedi shop owners with polio overcoming their physical challenges and performing for an audience

vm.tiktok.com/VrCasJ/

You have people like Akshay Kakkar who are obese and still make body positive videos .. he loves to dance and encourages others to dance irrespective of their body size .. and he’s got a 3.5 million following!

vm.tiktok.com/VrHbhA/

You have people like Pooja (who’s a transgender) and has been dancing in mumbai local trains , busting myths about such people.. watch her dance here .. would you say she’s amazing?

vm.tiktok.com/VruB33/

Here’s Chinnu, from some Southern state and who doesn’t understand English ... and yet he and his friend produce dance videos and teach the art to those interested.. he’s suuuch a pleasure to watch! They can hardly even thank people on their posts

vm.tiktok.com/VrCVGD/

I have shared selected examples but you get the drift ?

There’s a LOT happening on #Tiktok and much positivity too being spread amongst all the dance and drama

This is not to say the platform didn’t have its challenges ... it was a hotbed for p0rn and religiously sensitive / communal material

But the app maker ByteDance has done much to moderate and curb such content and make this a safe place for most users

There’s much more that can be said about #Tiktok but it is much better understood once u scroll through the never ending stream of videos ...

The medium has now become so big that 2 weeks back a Fam Jam session was held with TikTok stars in Jio Garden, BKC!

Lots of kids and teens paid 3000 for selfies with their favourite stars! A few more in fact paid 8,000 to spend 10 mins with these content creators, to get tips on how they too can become big! #Tiktok

This #FamJam session in BKC was attended by about 3000 people.. and it’s only going to become bigger..now you can judge users for being crazy for a nonsensical platform.. OR you can begin to ponder over why so many millions of users have adopted this rather addictive medium

So yes, while India’s youth is not getting proper education and passing up opportunities for upskilling.. and our GDP numbers don’t look healthy #Tiktok isn’t the reason.. :-) it is as good or bad as other social media platforms..

Let us not sit in judgment of a VAST majority of Indians and global users who see merit in the app as it helps them overcome their physical and language challenges and have some unadulterated fun #TikTok

Unroll please @threadreaderapp