Why Gen X Loves TikTok: What The App Is And Why It's So Popular

TikTok is the newest social media trend to come from the younger generation, and it’s already taking the world by storm. In this article, we’ll focus on the growth of TikTok and Gen X’s fascination with it.

I am a proud Gen X'er who joined TikTok over a year ago but was only consuming other creators' content up until two weeks ago when I decided it was time to join the party.

What is TikTok?

TikTok is an app created by China-based ByteDance. The app lets users create and share short, video clips called “TikTok,” and currently boasts 100 million monthly active users. The growth of TikTok has been rapid since its inception. 

In September of 2017, it was available on Apple's App Store as a 10-minute free trial. It was released on Android in June of 2018, with an additional subscription fee. Over the summer, it reached #1 on the download charts. In September, its parent company announced that it had reached half a billion downloads worldwide. 

Currently, TikTok is ranked #4 on Google Play and #6 on the Apple App Store. The app is free to download and use, but requires users to be logged in for access to its features. Who is it for?

Why TikTok is so popular?

Teenage kids are doing big things these days, and TikTok is proof.  At first, TikTok was a video app and was launched in 2016. This app was created by Chinese internet company Bytedance and is now available in 140 countries and 10,000 cities around the world. 

One of the reasons why TikTok has been so successful is because of its captivating short-form videos. Some videos only last two seconds and most run five minutes or less. They are either made in the app or with the app’s filters, and they are only viewable for three seconds. 

TikTok is all about short-form videos and sharing them on social media sites. The short videos usually include dancing, singing, makeup tutorials, and artistic expressions.

Why Gen X love TikTok?

Before I dive into the list of reasons Gen X loves TikTok, let me clear a couple of things up right away. TikTok isn’t a short-form social network, and it doesn’t take the place of a community. 

It’s an all-in-one app where you can create short videos, and then share them with the world. You can do it as a standalone app or integrate it with your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. 

Because it’s all in one app, it’s an easy way for anyone to record videos, share them, and potentially grow their audience. And it’s incredibly easy to record, edit, share and repost content. It’s a very easy way for anyone to get into the world of filmmaking. But it’s not just that the app is easy to use.

Conclusion

TikTok’s growth shows that a lot of the country is ready for change. It shows how people in their 20s and 30s are willing to embrace the trends and do the things their older counterparts aren’t. This can be very confusing because, for many older Americans, social media is considered “old” and not used as often.

But as more millennials and Gen Xers use these new platforms, they’re learning to accept them and come to their own conclusions on how they should be used.

Are you on TikTok? If so, I'd love to hear what you think.