We spend a lot of our days thinking about things we see online, trying to make sense of it all. This week in the Styles newsletter, Wait …, Taylor Lorenz, a Styles reporter, brings us an update from the world of TikTok.
If there’s one silver lining of being trapped at home for months with your family, it might be that you could go viral on TikTok.
Over the past month, TikTok use has skyrocketed. According to Sensor Tower, an analytics firm, the app received a boost in downloads throughout March as more users — stuck at home — turned to social media for entertainment. (Welcome!)
And, as families quarantine together and shelter in place, kids are roping their parents into creating content.
The result is that families have infiltrated nearly every corner of the app. TikTok stars who normally collaborate with each other have fled Los Angeles and are now home, creating content with their siblings and parents. Other homebound teenagers have started recruiting family members into their videos as unwitting props; to be the butt of jokes; to do stunts; or as recurring characters and dance partners.
Even celebrities are getting in on the action. As Vox recently noted, Jessica Alba and her children used TikTok to promote her Honest Beauty skincare line and Mark Wahlberg’s daughter attempted to teach the family a TikTok dance.
In some ways, it’s the perfect family-friendly app. TikTok is collaborative and challenge based, so it’s easy to come up with creative ideas. Many of the app’s most viral videos take place at home, and dances are generally simple and easy to learn. Plus, parents who mess up the moves only add to the comedic effect.
On March 6, James Charles uploaded a video to his YouTube channel titled “Teaching My Parents Tik Tok Dances!” where he attempted to explain dances including say so and the renegade. The video received more than 3.8 million views and spawned a wave of copycats.
A group dance challenge took off last month set to “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd. But it requires three people. Many of the hundreds of videos posted to the tune show kids who have recruited their parents to fill those roles. BuzzFeed even rounded up some of the best parent dancers. One family is using the app to pay tribute to Nicki Minaj.
Five (other) things
Some more things to read on the internet about the internet this week:
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